KING  HENRY  V 


The   RICHARD    MANSFIELD 

Acting    Version    of 
KING     HENRY     V 


Copyright  by 
ROSE  &  SANDS 


THE    RICHARD    MANSFIELD 
ACTING    VERSION    OF 

KING  HENRY  V 

A  History   in   Five  ASls 
by 

W  IS    Shakespeare 

»\  -•• 


version     'was   for    the   jirst    time 

presented  by  M?  RICH?  MANSFIELD 

&    his    Company    of   Players 

on    the    STAGE    of   the 

GARDEN    THEATRE 

Oftober    3^ 

M    C    M 


NEW     Y  O  R  K  : 

M9CLURE,     PHILLIPS     &     C° 

M  ,  CM.  &  I  , 


COPYRIGHT,    1901,  by 
McCLURE,    PHILLIPS   &   CO. 


An    INTRODUCTION 

By    MR     MANSFIELD 


M39334 


|ENRY  V.  can  hardly  be  termed  a  flay 
— it  is  rather  an  Epic — or  a  chronicle, 
in  a  series  of  stirring  scenes,  of  the  in- 
vasion of  France  by  the  King  of  Eng- 
land and  the  wooing  and  betrothal  of 
the  Princess  Katherine.  As  the  latter 
episode  only  occupies  a  portion  of  the 
last  act,  the  work  may  be  said  to  be 
lacking  in  what  is  technically  termed 
" love  interest"  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  inducements 
that  led  me  to  produce  Henry  F.  were  a  consideration 
of  its  healthy  and  virile  tone  ( 'so  diametrically  in  contrast 
to  many  of  the  performances  now  current} ;  the  nobility 
of  its  language,  the  breadth  and  power  of  which  is  not 
equalled  by  any  living  poet;  the  lesson  it  teaches  of  God- 
liness, honour,  loyalty,  courage,  cheerfulness  and  perse- 
verance •  its  beneficial  influence  upon  young  and  old  •  the 
opportunity  it  affords  for  a  pictorial  representation  of  the 
costumes  and  armour,  manners  and  customs,  of  that  inter- 
esting period,  and  perhaps  a  desire  to  prove  that  the 
American  stage  is,  even  under  difficulties,  quite  able  to 


An  INTRODUCTION  by  RICHARD  MANSFIELD 

hold  its  own  artistically  with  the  European,  fhe  ambi- 
tion of  my  stage  career  has  been  to  prove  the  superiority 
of  the  American  stage  and  the  American  actor,  and  I 
maintain  that  to-day  against  all  those  who  pretend  the 
contrary.  But  perhaps  I  was  influenced  beyond  any  other 
reason  by  the  desire  to  drag  Henry  V.  out  of  a  slough  of 
false  impressions  that  had  materially  affected  his  imper- 
sonation upon  the  stage,  tfhis  role  had  for  a  long  time 
been  considered  as  requiring  on  the  part  of  the  actor 
nothing  more  than  a  healthy  pair  of  lungs.  Henry  was 
not  supposed  to  make  any  claims  upon  the  intelligence  or 
the  heart  of  the  artist.  He  (as  an  acting  partj  was 
supposed  to  be  devoid  of  sentiment,  finesse,  variety  and 
feeling.  Let  us  see  how  far  this  is  the  case,  tfhe  stu- 
dent who  approaches  the  character  of  Henry  with  a  view 
to  impersonation,  will  consider  him,  in  looking  with  my 
eyes,  somewhat  in  this  fashion :  in  the  first  act,  in  order 
not  to  disconnect  the  chain  that  still  binds  him  to  the 
Prince  Hal  of  the  preceding  play,  we  must  find  him 
youthful,  debonair,  gracious  and  yet  with  a  new-born 
kingliness  and  tact  and  state-craft,  -which  even  after  the 
utterances  of  the  archbishop,  surprise  and  interest.  In 
the  subsequent  scene,  on  the  quay  at  Southampton,  in  the 
unmasking  of  the  three  traitors,  Cambridge,  Scroop,  and 
Grey,  and  especially  in  his  address  to  his  former  bosom 
friend,  Scroop,  we  at  once  strike  a  note  of  profound  mel- 
ancholy and  pathos  :  "  ^hou  that  didst  bear  the  key  of  all 
my  counsels?  Henry  in  his  roystering  days  had  come 
upon  deceit  and  villainy  and  venality,  but  this  was  where 
he  might  naturally  expect  it; — here,  for  the  first  time, 
and  in  the  very  beginning  of  his  reign,  he  stumbles  upon 
treachery  so  hideous  and  lying  so  near  to  his  heart,  as 
may  well  have  shaken  his  very  soul,  ^fhis  awakening, 
his  horror  and  his  grief,  cannot  be  expressed  by  mere 
noise.  We  next  find  him  exhorting  his  soldiers  in  clarion 
tones,  or  depicting  to  the  city-fathers  of  Harfleur  in  lurid 

(xii) 


An  INTRODUCTION  by  RICHARD  MANSFIELD 

colors  ( 'worthy  of  an  actor,  a  poet  and  a  painter J  the 
horrors  that  would  attend  the  pillage  of  their  city. 

Tou  will  note  that  Henry  is  commencing  to  exhibit  the 
many  sides  of  a  very  versatile  character,  in  the  first  act 
he  was  not  at  all  what  he  was  in  the  second,  and  now  in 
the  third  we  have  him  again  in  two  different  roles :  first 
as  the  brilliant  captain  and  magnetic  leader  of  men,  and 
then  as  a  very  wily  and  eloquent  pleader,  for  lie  infuses 
such  terror  into  the  minds  of  the  citizens  that  they  are 
moved  to  surrender  the  town  then  and  there,  instead  of 
protracting  the  siege — a  course  which  might  have  been 
fatal  to  Henry.  Indeed  throughout  this  work  we  find 
Henry  constantly  swaying  men  by  his  reasoning  and  his 
powers  of  eloquence.  He  very  rarely  throws  aside  the 
mantle  of  the  King  and  the  manner  of  the  good  fellow  and 
comrade,  until  the  opportunity  occurs  in  the  fourth  act. 
Here  at  last — alone  at  night  by  the  camp-fire — he  and  his 
bosom  debate  awhile,  and  he  is  led  to  speak  of  the  empti- 
ness of  royalty  and  ceremony,  ^his  speech,  which  ranks 
with  the  finest  of  Shakespeare's,  is  one  which  to-day  is 
almost  beyond  the  comprehension  of  the  average  man. 
Indeed  it  is  interesting  to  observe  that  it  is  not  much  ap- 
plauded for  the  reason  that  it  is  spoken  entirely  from  the 
point  of  view  of  a  king — and  kings  happen  to  be  in  a 
minority  as  the  world  is  constituted  to-day.  In  this  solil- 
oquy Henry  refers  to  the  fact  that  kings  do  not  sleep  as 
well  as  the  wretched  slave  fihe  working-man}  "who 
with  a  body  fiWd  and  vacant  mind  gets  him  to  rest, 
cramm'd  with  distressful  bread" — and  furthermore  says 
— that  "  such  a  wretch,  winding  up  days  with  toil  and 
nights  with  sleep,  had  the  fore-hand  and  vantage  of  a 
king"  As  ninety-nine  out  of  a  hundred  men  sweat  in 
the  eye  ofPhcebus  all  day  and  wind  up  days  of  toil  with 
nights  of  sleep,  we  cannot  expect  much  sympathy  from 
them  for  the  lamentations  of  Henry.  And  we  must  re- 
member that  when  Shakespeare  wrote,  affairs  were  man- 

(xiii) 


An  INTRODUCTION  by  RICHARD  MANSFIELD 

aged  very  differently.  Merchants  were  not  princes  then. 
Nobility  and  blood  were  everything.  And  a  Gentleman 
made  his  fortune  in  the  battle-field  and  by  the  grace  of  his 
sovereign.  Again,  the  student,  unless  he  is  very  careful 
in  his  interpretation,  will  run  upon  a  rock  in  Henry's 
very  beautiful  prayer,  "  0  God  of  Battles,"  etc.  My 
favourite  stage  motto  is  :  "  II  faut  excuser  Pauteur  " — 
by  this  I  mean  that,  no  matter  how  great  the  author,  the 
actor  must  often  disguise  him  and  in  a  manner  excuse 
him  to  his  audience.  If  we  come  to  consider  this  prayer 
of  Henry's  calmly,  we  find  him  reminding  God  of  what 
he,  Henry,  has  done  to  deserve  His  favour  and  promising 
to  do  something  more  if  God  will  favour  him  upon  that 
day.  He  tells  God  that  he  has  five  hundred  poor  in 
yearly  pay  and  that  he  has  built  two  chantries  and  he 
will  do  still  more  if  God  will  help  him  to  thrash  the 
French,  ^fhis  was  all  then  the  custom  of  those  times.  It 
was  child-like  faith  and  simplicity.  But  the  actor's  fer- 
vour, intensity,  and  simple  treatment  of  this  prayer  must  go 
largely  towards  helping  out  the  author  to-day,  tfhe  most 
popular  speech  with  the  audience  is  the  "St.  Crispin," 
because  it  is  easily  understood  by  everybody,  tfhere  are 
no  pitfalls  here.  It  needs  only  a  breezy,  wholesome,  and 
whole-hearted  delivery.  In  the  last  act  I  recommend  an 
earnest,  manly  wooing  of  Princess  Katherine,  as  I  recom- 
mend to  everybody  an  earnest,  manly  wooing  of  anybody 
that  anybody  wants  to  woo.  If  the  actor  has  a  slight 
appreciation  of  humour,  "  tant  mieux." 

RICHARD  MANSFIELD. 


(xiv) 


KING   HENRY  V 


A  LiisTofttie  PERSONS  of  the  PLAY 

"Together   with   the   names    of  the    Ladies    and 

Gentlemen    who   impersonate   them 

in  the  present  production  of 

KING  HENRY  V. 

KING  HENRY  V Mr  Richard  Mansfield 

The  DUKE  of  GLOSTER,  brother  of  HENRY  V ...  Mr  Ernest  Warde 
The  DUKE  of  BEDFORD,  brother  of  HENRY  V .  .  Mr  Malcolm  Duncan 
The  DUKE  ^CLARENCE,  brother  of  HENRY  V. .  Mr  B.  W.  Winter 

The  DUKE  of  EXETER,  uncle  of  HENRY  V Mr  John  Malone 

The  DUKE  0/*YoRK,  cousin  of  HENRY  V Mr  Arthur  Stanford 

The  EARL  0/*  WESTMORELAND Mr  C.  C.  Quimby 

The  EARL  */ SUFFOLK Mr  E.  H.  Sheilds 

The  EARL  ^WARWICK Mr  William  Sorelle 

The  EARL  of  SALISBURY Mr  G.  H.  Davis 

The  EARL  of  MARCH Mr  J.  H.  Lee 

The  EARL  of  CAMBRIDGE  .  .  ")  conspirators  C  .  .  .  Mr  C.  H.  Geldart 
LORD  SCROOP  of  MASHAM  .  >-  against  \  Mr  Woodward  Barrett 

Sir  THOMAS  GREY J    HENRY  V   ( Mr  F.  C.  Butler 

ARCHBISHOP  of  CANTERBURY Mr  John  C.  Dixon 

BISHOP  of  ELY Mr  Salesbury  Cash 

LORD  FANHOPE Mr  J.  F.  Hussey 

Sir  JOHN  BLOUNT Mr  W.  J.  Green 

Sir  JOHN  ASHETON Mr  M.  Hutchinson 

Sir  JOHN  MOWBRAY Mr  William  Robbins 

STANLEY Mr  W.  E.  Peters 

Sir  THOMAS  ERPINGHAM  .  ^j  (  Mr  James  L.  Carhart 

GOWER I      officers  in         Mr  J.  Palmer  Collins 

FLUELLEN I  HENRY  V.'s  J    Mr  A.  G.   Andrews 

MACMORRIS army  Mr  Chas.  J.  Edmonds 

JAMEY J  ^  Mr  Augustine  Duncan 

WILLIAMS,  soldier  in  HENRY  V.'s  army Mr  Joseph  Whiting 

BATES,  soldier  in  HENRY  V.'s  army Mr  J.  A.  Wilkes 

PISTOL ")    soldiers  in  HENRY  V.  's    C  .  .  .  Mr  W.  N.  Griffith 

NYM v  army,  formerly  servants  -j  .  .  Mr  Wallace  Jackson 

BARDOLPH  .  .  .  )  to  Falstaff  (  .  .  .  Mr  B.  W.  Turner 

BOY,  servant  to  above Miss  Dorothy  Chester 

ENGLISH  HERALD Mr  P.  J.  Rollow 

CHARLES  the  SIXTH,  King  of  France Mr  Sheridan  Block 

LEWIS,  tbe  Dauphin  ^France Mr  A.  Berthelet 

(xvii) 


A   LIST  of  the  PERSONS  of  the  PLAY 

The  DUKE  of  BURGUNDY Mr  Mervyn  Dallas 

The  DUKE  of  ORLEANS Mr  Richard  Sterling 

The  DUKE  of  BOURBON Mr  Clement  Toole 

The  CONSTABLE  of  FRANCE Mr  Prince  Lloyd 

The  DUKE  of  ALEN£ON Mr  P.  W.  Thompson 

LORD  RAMBURES Mr  E.  H.  Vincent 

LORD  GRANDPRE Mr  W.  H.  Brown 

ARCHBISHOP  of  SENS Mr  J.  E.  Gordon 

ARCHBISHOP  of  BOURGES .- Mr  Bouic  Clark 

GOVERNOR  of  HARFLEUR Mr  Stanley  Jessup 

MONTJOY,  French  Herald Mr  Edwin  Brewster 

FRENCH  SOLDIER Mr  F.  Gaillard 

FRENCH  MESSENGER Mr  Edwin  L.  Belden 

CHORUS Miss  Florence  Kahn 

ISABEL,  Queen  of  France Miss  Georgine  Brandon 

PRINCESS  KATHERINE,  daughter  of  CHARLES  and 

ISABEL .  -, Mile  Ida  Brassey 

ALICE,  lady  attending  PRINCESS  KATHERINE  .  .  .  Mile  Susanne  Santje 
DAME  QUICKLY,  a  hostess,  and  PISTOL'S  wife.  .  Miss  Estelle  Mortimer 

Civic  and  Ecclesiastical  Dignitaries,  Knights,  Nobles,  Pages,  Ladies 
of  the  Court  and  other  Attendants,  Soldiers,  Citizens,  £5*c. 


(xviii) 


K.HENRY,  v. 


of  '^7£ 


ACT          ONE 

of  K  i  N  G   HENRY   V 


Prologue 
RUMOUR  appears  as  Chorus  (i) 
O  for  a  muse  of  fire,  that  would  ascend 
The  brightest  heaven  of  invention  ! 
A  kingdom  for  a  stage,  princes  to  act, 
And  monarchs  to  behold  the  swelling  scene  ! 
Then  should  the  warlike  Harry,  like  himself, 
Assume  the  port  (2)  of  Mars  ;  and,  at  his  heels, 
Leash'd  in  like  hounds,  should  famine,  sword,  and 

fire,  (3) 

Crouch  for  employment. 
Suppose,  within  the  girdle  of  these  walls 
Are  now  confin'd  two  mighty  monarchies, 
Whose  high  upreared  and  abutting  fronts 
The  perilous,  narrow  ocean  parts  asunder. 
Piece  out  our  imperfections  with  your  thoughts; 
Into  a  thousand  parts  divide  one  man, 
And  make  imaginary  puissance  : 
Think,  when  we  talk  of  horses,  that  you  see  them 
Printing  their  proud  hoofs  i'  the  receiving  earth  : 
For  'tis  your  thoughts  that  now  must  deck  our  kings, 
Carry  them  here  and  there,  jumping  o'er  times, 
Turning  the  accomplishment  of  many  years 
Into  an  hour-glass  ;  for  the  which  supply, 
Admit  me  Chorus  to  this  history. 

4I.(i)  Chorus  is  used  only  four  times  by  Shakespeare  :  in  King  Henry  V., 
Rumour  ;  in  Romeo  and  Juliet  ;  in  Winter's  Tale,  Time  ;  and  in  Timon 
of  Athens,  Gower.  Though  Shakespeare  denominates  "  Rumour  as 
Chorus  "  in  King  Henry  V.,  Charles  Kean  departed  from  that  character- 
ization and  introduced  "Clio,  Muse  of  History,  as  Chorus,"  and  other 
productions  have  borrowed  the  idea  of  "  Father  Time,  as  Chorus"  from 
Winter's  Tale.  (2)  That  is,  deportment,  carriage.  From  the  French 
portie.  (3)  Holinshed  says  that  Henry  V.  declared  to  the  people  of 
Rouen  "that  the  goddesse  of  battell,  called  Bellona,  had  three  handmaid- 
ens, ever  of  necessitie  attending  upon  her,  as  blood,  fire,  and  famine." 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 


The   FIRST   Scene 


(A  Corridor  in  the  Palace  at  Westminster) 

QEmer,  from    Left,    the    ARCHBISHOP    of    CANTER- 
BURY (i)  and'  the  BISHOP  ^ELY  (2) 


CANTERBURY  (Left  Centre) 
My  lord,  I'll  tell  you  ;  that  self  bill  is  urg'd, 
Which  in  the  eleventh  year  of  the  last  king's  reign 
Was  like,  and  had  indeed  against  us  pass'd, 
But  that  the  scambling  (3)  and  unquiet  time 
Did  push  it  out  of  farther  question. 

ELY  (Right  Centre) 
But  how,  my  lord,  shall  we  resist  it  now  *? 

CANTERBURY 

It  must  be  thought  on.     If  it  pass  against  us, 
We  lose  the  better  half  of  our  possession  ; 
For  all  the  temporal  lands  which  men  devout 
By  testament  have  given  to  the  church 
Would  they  strip  from  us.     Thus  runs  the  bill. 

ELY 
This  would  drink  deep. 

CANTERBURY 
'Twould  drink  the  cup  and  all. 

ELY 
But  what  prevention  ? 

CANTERBURY 
The  king  is  full  of  grace  and  fair  regard. 

ELY 
And  a  true  lover  of  holy  church. 

C.C1)  Henry  Chicheley,  a  Carthusian  monk,  recently  promoted  to  that  see. 
(2)  John  Fordham,  consecrated  1388,  died  1426.  (3)  Scrambling,  ac- 
cording to  Percy.  The  time  when  authority  is  unrespected,  says  Knight. 


ACT    ONE    :    The    FIRST     Scene 

CANTERBURY 

The  courses  of  his  youth  promis'd  it  not. 
The  breath  no  sooner  left  his  father's  body,(i) 
But  that  his  wildness,  mortified  in  him, 
Seem'd  to  die  too ;  yea,  at  that  very  moment 
Consideration,  like  an  angel,  came 
And  whipp'd  the  offending  Adam  out  of  him, 
Leaving  his  body  as  a  paradise 
To  envelope  and  contain  celestial  spirits. 

ELY 

We  are  blessed  in  the  change. 
CANTERBURY 

Hear  him  but  reason  in  divinity, 
And,  all-admiring,  with  an  inward  wish 
You  would  desire  the  king  were  made  a  prelate : 
Hear  him  debate  of  commonwealth  affairs, 
You  would  say  it  hath  been  all  in  all  his  study : 
List  his  discourse  of  war,  and  you  shall  hear 
A  fearful  battle  rendered  you  in  music : 
Turn  him  to  any  cause  of  policy, 
The  Gordian  knot  of  it  he  will  unloose, 
Familiar  as  his  garter:  that,  when  he  speaks, 
The  air,  a  charter'd  libertine,  is  still, 
And  the  mute  wonder  lurketh  in  men's  ears, 
To  steal  his  sweet  and  honey'd  sentences ; 
So  that  the  art  and  practic(2)  part  of  life 
Must  be  the  mistress  to  this  theoric  (3)  : 
Which  is  a  wonder  how  his  grace  should  glean  it, 
Since  his  addiction  was  to  courses  vain, 
His  companies  unletter'd,  rude,  and  shallow, 
His  hours  fill'd  up  with  riots,  banquets,  sports, 
And  never  noted  in  him  any  study, 

C,(r)  There  is  a  theory  among  historians  that  Prince  Hal  assumed  his 
wildness  of  the  Boar's  Head  days  to  dissipate  the  jealousy  and  regicidal 
fears  of  his  father,  King  Henry  IV.  (2)  Practical.  (3)  Theory. 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

Any  retirement,  any  sequestration 
From  open  haunts  and  popularity. 

ELY 

The  strawberry  grows  underneath  the  nettle, 
And  wholesome  berries  thrive  and  ripen  best 
Neighboured  by  fruit  of  baser  quality: 
And  so  the  prince  obscur'd  his  contemplation 
Under  the  veil  of  wildness;  which,  no  doubt, 
Grew  like  the  summer  grass,  fastest  by  night, 
Unseen,  yet  crescive  (i)  in  his  faculty. 

CANTERBURY 

It  must  be  so ;  for  miracles  are  ceas'd, 

And  therefore  we  must  needs  admit  the  means 

How  things  are  perfected. 

ELY 

But,  my  good  lord, 
How  now  for  mitigation  of  this  bill 
Urg'd  by  the  commons  *?     Doth  his  majesty 
Incline  to  it,  or  no*? 

CANTERBURY 

He  seems  indifferent, 
Or  rather  swaying  more  upon  our  part 
Than  cherishing  the  exhibiters  against  us ; 
For  I  have  made  an  offer  to  his  majesty, — 
Upon  our  spiritual  convocation 
And  in  regard  of  causes  now  in  hand, 
Which  I  have  open'd  to  his  grace  at  large, 
As  touching  France, — to  give  a  greater  sum 
Than  ever  at  one  time  the  clergy  yet 
Did  to  his  predecessors  part  withal. 

C.(i)  Increasing.     Only  use  of  crescive  by  Shakespeare. 
(4) 


ACT    ONE    :    The    FIRST    Scene 


ELY 
How  did  this  offer  seem  receiv'd,  my  lord  ? 

CANTERBURY 

With  good  acceptance  of  his  majesty; 

Save  that  there  was  not  time  enough  to  hear, 

As  I  perceiv'd  his  grace  would  fain  have  done, 

The  severals  and  unhidden  passages 

Of  his  true  titles  to  some  certain  dukedoms, 

And  generally  to  the  crown  and  seat  of  France 

Deriv'd  from  Edward,  his  great-grandfather. 

ELY 

What  was  th'  impediment  that  broke  this  off? 
CANTERBURY 

The  French  ambassador  upon  that  instant 
Crav'd  audience ;  and  the  hour,  I  think,  is  come, 
To  give  him  hearing.     Is  it  four  o'clock  ? 

ELY 
It  is. 

CANTERBURY  (crossing  to  Right) 

Then  we  go  in,  to  know  his  embassy, 
Which  I  could  with  a  ready  guess  declare, 
Before  the  Frenchman  speak  a  word  of  it. 

ELY 

I'll  wait  upon  you,  and  I  long  to  hear  it. 

(Exeunt  Right.) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 


cfhe  SECOND  Scene 


('The  throne  Room  in  the  Palace  at  Westminster  •  various 

Lords  and  ecclesiastics  in  attendance,  Right 

and  Left  of  throned) 

QEnter,  from  Left,  KING  HENRY,  (i)  BEDFORD,  (2) 
GLOSTER,  (3)  EXETER  (4)  and  WESTMORELAND,  pre- 
ceded by  WARWICK  bearing  the  crown  of  St.  Edward, 
the  bearers  of  the  swords  of  State  and  Justice,  a  her- 
ald, (5)  trumpeters,  pages  and  attendants.  THE  KING 
ascends  the  throne. 

KING  HENRY 
Where  is  my  gracious  lord  of  Canterbury '? 

EXETER 
Not  here  in  presence. 

KING  HENRY 
Send  for  him,  good  uncle. 

WESTMORELAND 

(Kneeling  before  throned)    Shall  we  call  in  the  ambas- 
sador, my  liege  ? 

C.C1)  Henry  the  V.  of  that  name,  and  sone  of  Henry  the  IIII.,  began  his 
reygne  over  this  realme  of  Englande  ye  xxi  day  of  the  moneth  of  Marche. 
*  *  *  This  man,  before  ye  deth  of  his  fader,  applyed  hym  unto  all 
vyce  and  insolency,  and  drewe  unto  hym  all  ryottours  and  wylde  dysposed 
persones ;  but  after  he  was  admytted  to  the  rule  of  the  lande,  anone  and 
sodaynly  he  became  a  newe  man,  and  tourned  all  that  rage  and  wyldnes 
into  sobernesse  and  wyse  sadnesse,  and  the  vyce  into  constant  vertue. — 
Fa  by  an.  He  was  Duke  of  Lancaster  and  Earl  of  Chester  and  Derby. — 
Tyler.  (2)  John,  Duke  of  Bedford,  was  the  third  son  of  King  Henry 
IV.,  and  his  brother,  Henry  V.,  left  to  him  the  Regency  of  France.  He 
died  in  the  year  1435.  This  duke  was  accounted  one  of  the  best  generals 
of  the  royal  race  of  Plantagenet.  (3)  Humphrey,  Duke  of  Gloster,  was 
the  fourth  son  of  King  Henry  IV.,  and  on  the  death  of  his  brother, 
Henry  V.,  became  Regent  of  England.  It  is  generally  supposed  he  was 
strangled.  His  death  took  place  in  the  year  1446.  (4)  Thomas  Beaufort, 
Earl  of  Dorset,  half  brother  to  King  Henry  IV.,  hence  uncle  of  Henry 
V.  He  was  made  Duke  of  Exeter  after  the  Battle  of  Agincourt.  Lord 
High  Admiral.  (5)  William  Burgess,  herald,  afterward  Garter. 

(6) 


ACT   ONE:   The    SECOND    Scene 

KING  HENRY 

Not  yet,  my  cousin  ;  we  would  be  resolv'd, 
Before  we  hear  him,  of  some  things  of  weight 
That  task  our  thoughts,  concerning  us  and  France. 

f[Enter,from  Right,  the  ARCHBISHOP  of  CANTERBURY 
and  the  BISHOP  of  ELY.  tfhey  kneel  at  right  before  throne. 

CANTERBURY 

God  and  his  angels  guard  your  sacred  throne, 
And  make  you  long  become  it. 

(CANTERBURY  and  ELY  rise.) 

KING  HENRY 

Sure,  we  thank  you, 

My  learned  lord,  we  pray  you  to  proceed 
And  justly  and  religiously  unfold, 
Why  the  law  Salique,(i)  that  they  have  in  France, 
Or  should,  or  should  not,  bar  us  in  our  claim. 
And  heaven  forbid,  my  dear  and  faithful  lord, 
That  you  should  fashion,  wrest,  or  bow  your  reading, 
Or  nicely  charge  your  understanding  soul  (2) 
With  opening  titles  miscreate,  (3)  whose  right 
Suits  not  in  native  colours  with  the  truth; 
For  God  doth  know  how  many  now  in  health 
Shall  drop  their  blood  in  approbation 
Of  what  your  reverence  shall  incite  us  to. 
Therefore  take  heed  how  you  impawn(4)  our  person, 
How  you  awake  our  sleeping  sword  of  war. 
We  charge  you,  in  the  name  of  Heaven,  take  heed  : 
For  never  two  such  kingdoms  did  contend 


According  to  this  law  no  woman  was  permitted  to  govern  or  be  a 
queen  in  her  own  right.  The  title  was  only  allowed  to  the  wife  of  the 
monarch.  This  law  was  imported  from  Germany  by  the  warlike  Franks. 
(2)  The  meaning  of  these  two  lines  is  given  by  Dr.  Johnson  :  "  Take 
heed,  lest,  by  nice  and  subtle  sophistry,  you  burthen  your  knowing  soul, 
with  the  guilt  of  advancing  a  false  title,  or  of  maintaining,  by  specious 
fallacies,  a  claim  which,  if  shown  in  its  native  and  true  colors,  would 
appear  to  be  false."  (3)  Spurious.  (4)  Engage. 

(7) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

Without  much  fall  of  blood  ;  whose  guiltless  drops 
Are  every  one  a  woe,  a  sore  complaint, 
'Gainst  him  whose  wrongs  gives  edge  unto  the  swords 
That  make  such  waste  in  brief  mortality. 
Under  this  conjuration,  speak,  my  lord ; 
For  we  will  hear,  note,  and  believe  in  heart 
That  what  you  speak  is  in  your  conscience  wash'd 
As  pure  as  sin  with  baptism. 

CANTERBURY 

Then  hear  me,  gracious  sovereign;  and  you  peers, 
That  owe  yourselves,  your  lives,  and  services, 
To  this  imperial  throne.     There  is  no  bar 
To  make  against  your  highness'  claim  to  France, 
But  this,  which  they  produce  from  Pharamond, — 
"  No  woman  shall  succeed  in  Salique  land  ;  " 
Which  Salique  land  the  French  unjustly  gloze(l) 
To  be  the  realm  of  France,  and  Pharamond 
The  founder  of  this  law  and  female  bar. 
Yet  their  own  authors  faithfully  affirm 
That  the  land  of  Salique  is  in  Germany, 
Between  the  floods  of  Sala  and  of  Elbe.(2) 

KING  HENRY 

May  I,  with  right  and  conscience,  make  this  claim  ? 
CANTERBURY 

The  sin  upon  my  head,  dread  sovereign  ! 
For  in  the  Book  of  Numbers(3)  it  is  writ, — 
When  the  man  dies,  let  the  inheritance 
Descend  unto  the  daughter.     Gracious  lord, 
Stand  for  your  own  ;  unwind  your  bloody  flag ; 
Look  back  into  your  mighty  ancestors : 

C.(i)  Explain.  (2)  Floods,  i.e.,  rivers.  The  Archbishop's  speech  in 
this  scene,  explaining  King  Henry's  title  to  the  crown  of  France,  is 
closely  copied  from  Holinshed's  chronicle,  page  545.  (3)  See  Numbers 
xxvii.  8. 


ACT    ONE  :   The   SECOND    Scene 

Go,  my  dread  lord,  to  your  great  grandsire's  (i) 

tomb, 

From  whom  you  claim ;  invoke  his  warlike  spirit, 
And  your  great-uncle's,  Edward  the  Black  Prince  ; 
Who  on  the  French  ground  play'd  a  tragedy, 
Making  defeat  on  the  full  power  of  France ; 
Whiles  his  most  mighty  father  on  a  hill 
Stood  smiling,  to  behold  his  lion's  whelp 
Forage  in  blood  of  French  nobility.(2) 

ELY 

Awake  remembrance  of  these  valiant  dead, 
And  with  your  puissant  arm  renew  their  feats. 
You  are  their  heir,  you  sit  upon  their  throne  ; 
The  blood  and  courage,  that  renowned  them, 
Runs  in  your  veins ;  and  my  thrice-puissant  liege 
Is  in  the  very  May-morn  of  his  youth, 
Ripe  for  exploits  and  mighty  enterprises. 

EXETER 

Your  brother  kings  and  monarchs  of  the  earth 
Do  all  expect  that  you  should  rouse  yourself, 
As  did  the  former  lions  of  your  blood. 

WESTMORELAND 
They  know  your  grace  hath  cause,  and  means  and 

might : 

So  hath  your  highness  ;  never  king  of  England 
Had  nobles  richer,  and  more  loyal  subjects ; 
Whose  hearts  have  left  their  bodies  here  in  England, 
And  lie  pavilion'd  in  the  fields  of  France. 

KING  HENRY 
Call  in  the  messengers  sent  from  the  Dauphin. 

(Exit  Herald  and  Trumpeters  Right.) 
Now  we  are  resolved  ;  and,  by  Heaven's  help 

C.(i)  Edward  III.     (2)  The  allusion  is  to  the  battle  of  Cressy,  fought 
August  25th,  1346. 

(9) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

And  yours,  the  noble  sinews  of  our  power, 
France  being  ours,  we'll  bend  it  to  our  awe, 
Or  break  it  all  to  pieces  ;  there  we'll  sit, 
Ruling  in  large  and  ample  empery(i) 
O'er  France  and  all  her  almost  kingly  dukedoms, 
Or  lay  these  bones  in  an  unworthy  urn, 
Tombless,  with  no  remembrance  over  them. 
Either  our  history  shall  with  full  mouth 
Speak  freely  of  our  acts,  or  else  our  grave, 
Like  Turkish  mute,  shall  have  a  songless  mouth, 
Not  worshipp'd  with  a  waxen  epitaph.  (2) 


ARCHBISHOP  of  CANTERBURY  and  the  BISHOP 
<?/~ELY  ascend  the  throne  and  sit  either  side  of  the  KING. 
*fhe  attendants  relieve  them  of  their  crosiers. 

4[Enter,from  Right,  the  ARCHBISHOP  of  BOURGES,  the 
CONSTABLE  of  FRANCE  and  other  French  Amhassa- 
dors,  (3)  with  attendants  carrying  a  treasure  chest,  cov- 
ered wiih  a  velvet  cloth  sprinkled  with  rleur-de-lys.  fhe 
bearers  deposit  the  chest  at  the  foot  of  the  throne  and  re- 
tire Right. 

Now  are  we  well  prepared  to  know  the  pleasure 
Of  our  fair  cousin  Dauphin  ;  for,  we  hear, 
Your  greeting  is  from  him,  not  from  the  king. 

BOURGES 

May't  please  your  majesty  to  give  us  leave 
Freely  to  render  what  we  have  in  charge  ; 
Or  shall  we  sparingly  show  you  far  off 
The  Dauphin's  meaning,  and  our  embassy^ 

C,(i)  Kingdom,  from  empere,  old  French.  (2)  Perishable  epitaph. 
(3)  The  charge  of  this  Ambassade  was  committed  unto  the  Erie  of  Ven- 
dosme  to  Mayster  Bouratier,  Archbyshop  of  Bourgues.  *  *  *  And  the 
King,  sitting  under  his  cloth  of  Estate,  the  said  Ambassador  had  accesse 
unto  him.  —  Stow.  Une  ambassade  compose'e  des  Comtes  de  Vendome 
et  de  Tancarville,  de  1'archeveque  de  Bourges,  de  1'e'veque  de  Lisieux  et 
d'aucuns  autres  du  grand  conseil.  —  Recordes  de  St.  Denis,  6,  xxxiv. 

(10) 


ACT   ONE  :  The   SECOND    Scene 

KING  HENRY 

We  are  no  tyrant,  but  a  Christian  king  ; 
Unto  whose  grace  our  passion  is  as  subject 
As  are  our  wretches  fetter'd  in  our  prisons: 
Therefore,  with  frank  and  with  uncurbed  plainness 
Tell  us  the  Dauphin's  mind. 

BOURGES 

Thus,  then,  in  few. 

Your  highness,  lately  sending  into  France, 
Did  claim  some  certain  dukedoms,  in  the  right 
Of  your  great  predecessor,  King  Edward  the  Third, 
In  answer  of  which  claim,  the  prince  our  master 
Says  that  you  savour  too  much  of  your  youth,  (i) 
And  bids  you  be  advis'd  there's  nought  in  France 
That  can  be  with  a  nimble  galliard(2)  won  : 
You  cannot  revel  into  dukedoms  there. 
He  therefore  sends  you,  meeter  for  your  spirit, 
This  tun  of  treasure  ;  and,  in  lieu  of  this, 
Desires  you,  let  the  dukedoms  that  you  claim 
Hear  no  more  of  you.     This  the  Dauphin  speaks. 

KING  HENRY 
What  treasure,  uncle  ? 


draws  back  the  cloth  disclosing  a  box  of  ten- 
nis-balls. tfhe  discovery  creates  a  sensation  among  the 
English  nobles. 

EXETER 
Tennis-balls,  my  liege  ! 

KING  HENRY 

We  are  glad  the  Dauphin  is  so  pleasant  with  us  ; 
His  present,  and  your  pains,  we  thank  you  for. 

C,(i)  King  Henry  V.  was  born  August  9,  1388.  The  campaign  against 
France  began  in  the  summer  of  1415.  Henry  was  then  in  his  twenty- 
seventh  year.  (2)  A  French  dance. 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

When  we  have  match'd  our  rackets  to  these  balls, 
We  will  in  France,  by  Heaven's  grace,  play  a  set 
Shall  strike  his  father's  crown  into  the  hazard : 
Tell  him,  he  hath  made  a  match  with  such  a  wrangler, 
That  all  the  courts  of  France  will  be  disturb'd 
With  chaces.(i)     And  we  understand  him  well, 
How  he  comes  o'er  us  with  our  wilder  days, 
Not  measuring  what  use  we  made  of  them. 
We  never  valued  this  poor  seat  of  England, 
And  therefore,  living  hence,  did  give  ourself 
To  barbarous  license ;  as  't  is  ever  common 
That  men  are  merriest  when  they  are  from  home. 
But  tell  the  Dauphin  I  will  keep  my  state, 
Be  like  a  king,  and  show  my  sail  of  greatness 
When  I  do  rouse  me  in  my  throne  of  France : 
For  that  I  have  laid  by  my  majesty 
And  plodded  like  a  man  for  working-days, 
But  I  will  rise  there  with  so  full  a  glory 
That  I  will  dazzle  all  the  eyes  of  France, 
Yea,  strike  the  Dauphin  blind  to  look  on  us. 
And  tell  the  pleasant  prince  this  mock  of  his 
Hath  turn'd  his  balls  to  gun-stones; (2)  and  his  soul 
Shall  stand  sore  charged  for  the  wasteful  vengeance 
That  shall  fly  with  them :  for  many  a  thousand  widows 
Shall  this  his  mock  mock  out  of  their  dear  husbands, 
Mock  mothers  from  their  sons,  mock  castles  down ; 
And  some  are  yet  ungotten  and  unborn 
That  shall  have  cause  to  curse  the  Dauphin's  scorn. 
But  this  lies  all  within  the  will  of  God, 
To  whom  I  do  appeal ;  and  in  whose  name, 
Tell  you  the  Dauphin,  I  am  coming  on 
To  venge  me  as  I  may,  and  to  put  forth 
My  rightful  hand  in  a  well-hallow'd  cause. 

C,U)  The  spot  where  a  ball  must  fall  in  the  game  of  tennis,  beyond  which 
the  adversary  must  strike  his  ball  to  gain  a  point,  or  chace.  (2)  Cannon 
balls  were  at  first  made  of  stone. 


ACT   ONE  :   The   SECOND    Scene 

So,  get  you  hence  in  peace  ;  and  tell  the  Dauphin, 
His  jest  will  savour  but  of  shallow  wit, 
When  thousands  weep,  more  than  did  laugh  at  it. 
Convey  them  with  safe  conduct.  —  Fare  you  well. 

(Exeunt  Ambassadors  and  Attendants  escorted 

by  the  English  herald.) 

EXETER 
This  was  a  merry  message. 

KING  HENRY 

We  hope  to  make  the  sender  blush  at  it. 
Therefore,  my  lords,  omit  no  happy  hour, 
That  may  give  furtherance  to  our  expedition. 
For  we  have  now  no  thought  in  us  but  France;  (i) 
Save  those  to  God,  that  runs  before  our  business. 
Therefore,  let  our  proportions  for  these  wars 
Be  soon  collected  ;  and  all  things  thought  upon, 
That  may,  with  reasonable  swiftness,  add 
More  feathers  to  our  wings;  for,  Heaven  before, 
We'll  chide  this  Dauphin  at  his  father's  door. 
Therefore  let  every  man  now  task  his  thought, 
That  this  fair  action  may  on  foot  be  brought. 


C.(i)  "About  the  middle  of  the  year  1414,  Henry  V.,  influenced  by  the 
persuasions  of  Chichely,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  by  the  dying  injunc- 
tions of  his  royal  father,  not  to  allow  the  kingdom  to  remain  long  at 
peace,  or  more  probably  by  those  feelings  of  ambition,  which  were  no 
less  natural  to  his  age  and  character,  than  consonant  with  the  manners  of 
the  time  in  which  he  lived,  resolved  to  assert  that  claim  to  the  crown  of 
France  which  his  great  grandfather,  King  Edward  the  Third,  had  urged 
with  such  confidence  and  success."  —  Nicolas'  's  History  of  the  Battle  of 
Agincotirt. 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 


THIRD  Scene 


(Exterior  of  the  Boar's  Head,  Eastcheap,  London) 
er  from  Right,  NYM,  and  from  Left,  BARDOLPH. 

BARDOLPH 
Well  met,  Corporal  Nym. 

NYM 
Good  morrow,  Lieutenant  Bardolph. 

BARDOLPH 
What,  are  Ancient(i)  Pistol  and  you  friends  yet? 

NYM 

For  my  part,  I  care  not  :  I  say  little  ;  but  when 
time  shall  serve,  there  shall  be  smiles  ;  but  that  shall 
be  as  it  may.  I  dare  not  fight,  but  I  will  wink,  and 
hold  out  mine  iron.  It  is  a  simple  one  ;  but  what 
though  *?  It  will  toast  cheese  ;  and  it  will  endure 
cold  as  another  man's  sword  will  ;  and  there's  an  end. 

BARDOLPH 

I  will  bestow  a  breakfast  to  make  you  friends;  and 
we'll  be  three  sworn  brothers  to  France  ;  let  it  be  so, 
good  Corporal  Nym. 

NYM 

'Faith,  I  will  live  so  long  as  I  may,  that's  the  cer- 
tain of  it  ;  and  when  I  cannot  live  any  longer,  I  will 
do  as  I  may  ;  that  is  my  rest,  and  that  is  the  rendez- 
vous of  it. 

BARDOLPH 

It  is  certain,  corporal,  that  he  is  married  to  Nell 
Quickly  :  and,  certainly,  she  did  you  wrong  ;  for  you 
were  troth-plight  to  her. 

CL(0  Corruption  of  Ensign. 
(14) 


ACT    ONE  :   The    THIRD    Scene 

NYM 

I  cannot  tell ;  things  must  be  as  they  may ;  men 
may  sleep,  and  they  may  have  their  throats  about 
them  at  that  time ;  and,  some  say,  knives  have  edges. 
It  must  be  as  it  may  ;  though  patience  be  a  tired 
mare,  yet  she  will  plod.  There  must  be  conclusions. 
Well,  I  cannot  tell. 

QEnter,fro?n  Left,  PISTOL  and  DAME  QUICKLY. 

BARDOLPH 

Here  comes  Ancient  Pistol,  and  his  wife  : — good 
corporal,  be  patient  here. — How  now,  mine  host 
Pistol  ? 

PISTOL 

Base  tike,(i)  call'st  thou  me  host  ? 

Now,  by  this  hand  I  swear,  I  scorn  the  term ; 

Nor  shall  my  Nell  keep  lodgers. 

(NYM  and  PISTOL  draw.) 

QUICKLY 

O  well-a-day,  Lady,(2)  if  he  be  not  here.  Now 
we  shall  see  wilful  adultery  and  murther  committed. 
Good  Lieutenant  Bardolph — 

BARDOLPH 

Good  corporal,  offer  nothing  here. 

(Steps  between  them?) 
NYM 
Pish! 

PISTOL 

Pish  for  thee,  Iceland  dog !  thou  prick  eared  cur  of 
Iceland ! 

C.(i)  Cur.     (2)  "Our  blessed  Lady,"  i.e.,  the  Virgin  Mary. 

Os) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

QUICKLY 

Good  Corporal  Nym,  show  thy  valour  and  put  up 
thy  sword. 

NYM 

Wilt  thou  shog(i)  off?     I  would  have  you  solus. 

(Sheathing  his  sword.) 

PISTOL 

Solus,  egregious  dog  ?     O  viper  vile  ! 

The  solus  in  thy  most  marvellous  face  ; 

The  solus  in  thy  teeth,  and  in  thy  throat, 

And  in  thy  hateful  lungs,  yea,  in  thy  maw,  perdy  (2) ; 

And,  which  is  worse,  within  thy  nasty  mouth ! 

I  do  retort  the  solus  in  thy  bowels. 

NYM 

I  am  not  Barbason  (3),  you  cannot  conjure  me.  1 
have  an  humour  to  knock  you  indifferently  well.  If 
you  grow  foul  with  me,  Pistol,  I  will  scour  you  with 
my  rapier,  as  I  may,  in  fair  terms.  And  that's  the 
humour  of  it. 

PISTOL 

O  braggart  vile,  and  damned  furious  wight! 
The  grave  doth  gape,  and  doting  death  is  near; 
Therefore  exhale  (4).     (PISTOL  and  NYM  draw.) 

BARDOLPH 

Hear  me,  hear  me  what  I  say : — he  that  strikes 
the  first  stroke,  I'll  run  him  up  to  the  hilts,  as  I  am 
a  soldier.  (Draws.) 

C.(i)  Nym's  word  for  jog. — Schmidt.     (2)  Corruption  of  "  par  Dieu." 

(3)  A  demon.    The  unmeaning  humour  of  Pistol's  speech  very  naturally 
reminds  Nym  of  the  sounding  nonsense  uttered  by  conjurers. — Steevens. 

(4)  The   commentators  are  in  doubt  whether  this  means   "draw  your 
sword"   or    "die."     Either  makes   sense — if  it  be  necessary  to  make 
Pistol  speak  sense. — Rolfe. 

(16) 


ACT    ONE   :   The    THIRD    Scene 

PISTOL 

An  oath  of  mickle  might;  and  fury  shall  abate. 

(PISTOL  sheathes  sword.) 
Give  me  thy  fist,  thy  fore-foot  to  me  give  ; 
Thy  spirits  are  most  tall. 

NYM 

I  will  cut  thy  throat,  one  time  or  other,  in  fair 
terms  ;  that  is  the  humour  of  it. 

sheathes  sword) 


BOY  from  Left. 


BOY 

Mine  host  Pistol,  you  must  come  to  my  master,— 
and  you,  hostess  ;  —  he  is  very  sick,  and  would  to  bed. 
Good  Bardolph,  put  thy  face  between  his  sheets,  and 
do  the  office  of  a  warming  pan.     Faith  he's  very  ill. 

BARDOLPH 
Away,  you  rogue. 

QUICKLY 

By  my  troth,  he'll  yield  the  crow  a  pudding  one 
of  these  days  ;  the  king  has  killed  his  heart.  Good 
husband,  come  home  presently. 

(Exeunt  DAME  QUICKLY  and  BOY,  Left.) 

BARDOLPH 

Come,  shall  I  make  you  two  friends  *?  We  must 
to  France  together  ;  —  why,  the  devil,  should  we  keep 
knives  to  cut  one  another's  throats  ? 

PISTOL 
Let  floods  o'erswell,  and  fiends  for  food  howl  on. 

NYM 

You'll  pay  me  the  eight  shillings  I  won  of  you  at 
betting. 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

PISTOL 
Base  is  the  slave  that  pays,  (i) 

NYM 
That  now  I  will  have ;  that's  the  humour  of  it. 

PISTOL 
As  manhood  shall  compound  :  push  home. 

(ffkey  draw.) 
BARDOLPH  (draws) 

By  this  sword,  he  that  makes  the  first  thrust  I'll  kill 
him;  by  this  sword,  I  will. 

PISTOL 

Sword  is  an  oath,  and  oaths  must  have  their  course. 

(PISTOL  sheathes  sword) 

BARDOLPH 

Corporal  Nym,  an  thou  wilt  be  friends,  be  friends  : 
an  thou  wilt  not,  why,  then  be  enemies  with  me 
too.  Prithee,  put  up. 

NYM 

I  shall  have  my  eight  shillings  I  won  of  you  at  bet- 
ting. (NYM  sheathes  sword) 

PISTOL 

A  noble  shalt  thou  have,  and  present  pay; 
And  liquor  likewise  will  I  give  thee ; 
And  friendship  shall  combine,  and  brotherhood : 
I'll  live  by  Nym,  and  Nym  shall  live  by  me. 
Is  not  this  just  ? — for  I  shall  sutler  be 
Unto  the  camp,  and  profits  will  accrue. 
Give  me  thy  hand.  (Offers  hand) 

NYM 
I  shall  have  my  noble  ? 

C.C1)  A  quotation    from   an  old  play,   like  much  of  Pistol's  nonsense. 
—  White. 

(18) 


ACT    ONE:   The    THIRD    Scene 

PISTOL 
In  cash  most  justly  paid. 

NYM 

Well,  then,  that's  the  humour  of  it. 

(Takes  PISTOL'S  hand.) 

^Re-enter  DAME  QUICKLY  from  Left. 
QUICKLY 

As  ever  you  came  of  women,  come  in  quickly  to 
Sir  John.  Ah,  poor  heart !  he  is  so  shaked  of  a 
burning  quotidian  tertian,(i)  that  it  is  most  lament- 
able to  behold.  Sweet  men,  come  to  him. 

(Exit  Left.) 
NYM 

The  king  hath  run  bad  humours  on  the  knight; 
that's  the  even  of  it. 

PISTOL 

Nym,  thou  hast  spoke  the  right ; 

His  heart  is  fracted(2)  and  corroborate. 

NYM 

The  king  is  a  good  king;  but  it  must  be  as  it 
may :  he  passes  some  humours  and  careers. 

PISTOL  (going  Left) 

Let  us  condole  the  knight;  for  lambkins  we  will 
live.  (Exeunt  Left.) 

RUMOUR  appears  as  Chorus. 
Now  all  the  youth  of  England  are  on  fire, 
And  silken  dalliance  in  the  wardrobe  lies; 

C.d)  The  dame  jumbles  together  the  quotidian  fever,  the  paroxysms  of 
which  recurred  daily,  and  the  tertian,  in  which  the  period  was  three 
days.  (2)  Broken. 

(19) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

Now  thrive  the  armourers,  and  honour's  thought 

Reigns  solely  in  the  breast  of  every  man. 

They  sell  the  pasture  now  to  buy  the  horse, 

Following  the  mirror  of  all  Christian  kings, 

With  winged  heels,  as  English  Mercuries. 

For  now  sits  expectation  in  the  air, 

And  hides  a  sword,  from  hilts  unto  the  point 

With  crowns  imperial,  crowns  and  coronets, 

Promis'd  to  Harry  and  his  followers. 

The  French,  advis'd  by  good  intelligence 

Of  this  most  dreadful  preparation, 

Shake  in  their  fear,  and  with  pale  policy 

Seek  to  divert  the  English  purposes. 

O  England  !  model  to  thy  inward  greatness, 

Like  little  body  with  a  mighty  heart, 

What  might'st  thou  do,  that  honour  would  thee  do, 

Were  all  thy  children  kind  and  natural ! 

But  see  thy  fault !     France  hath  in  thee  found  out 

A  nest  of  hollow  bosoms  which  he  fills 

With    treacherous    crowns;    and    three    corrupted 

men, — 

One,  Richard  Earl  of  Cambridge  ;(i)  and  the  second, 
Henry,  Lord  Scroop(2)  of  Masham ;  and  the  third, 
Sir  Thomas  Grey,  knight,  of  Northumberland,— 
Have,  for  the  guilt(3)  of  France  (O  guilt,  indeed !) 
Confirm'd  conspiracy  with  fearful  France ; 
And  by  their  hands  this  grace  of  kings(/|_)  must  die 
If  hell  and  treason  hold  their  promises, 
Ere  he  take  ship  for  France,  and  in  Southampton 
The  sum  is  paid ;  the  traitors  are  agreed ; 
The  king  is  set  from  London ;  and  the  scene 
Is  now  transported,  gentles,  to  Southampton. 

C.(i)  Richard  de  Coningsbury,  younger  son  of  Edmund  of  Langley, 
Duke  of  York.  He  was  father  of  Richard  Duke  of  York,  who  was 
father  of  Edward  IV.  (2)  Third  husband  of  Joan  Duchess  of  York, 
mother-in-law  of  Richard  Earl  of  Cambridge.  (3)  The  gold.  (4)  Com- 
plimentary sense,  like  "  Mirror  of  all  Christian  Kings  "  above. 

(20) 


ACT  ONE  :   The   FOURTH   Scene 


FOURTH    Scene 


(T'he  *j)uay  at  Southampton^) 


BEDFORD,  GLOSTER,  WARWICK,  WEST- 
MORELAND, with  other  lords  and  attendants,  await  the 
KING.  Soldiers  cross  at  rear. 

BEDFORD 

Tore   Heaven,    his   grace    is    bold,  to   trust    these 
traitors.(i) 

EXETER 
They  shall  be  apprehended  by  and  by. 

WESTMORELAND 

How  smooth  and  even  they  do  bear  themselves ! 
As  if  allegiance  in  their  bosoms  sat, 
Crowned  with  faith  and  constant  loyalty. 

BEDFORD 

The  king  hath  note  of  all  that  they  intend, 
By  interception  which  they  dream  not  of. (2) 

EXETER 

Nay,  but  the  man  that  was  his  bedfellow, (3) 
Whom    he  hath  dull'd  and  cloy'd    with    gracious 

favours,— 

That  he  should,  for  a  foreign  purse,  so  sell 
His  sovereign's  life  to  death  and  treachery ! 

C,(i)  His  Men  shipped,  and  the  King  himself  ready  to  go  on  board:  a 
conspiracy  against  his  life  is  discovered,  forged  by  Richard  Earl  of  Cam- 
bridge, Henry  Lord  Scroope  of  Masham,  the  Lord  Treasurer,  and  Sir 
Thomas  Grey  of  Northumberland,  who,  being  suborned  by  the  French 
for  a  Million  of  Gold,  as  upon  their  apprehension  they  confessed  (though 
their  indictment  contains  other  matter),  were  all  three  put  to  death  !  which 
was  no  sooner  performed  but  that  the  Wind  blowing  fair,  King  Henry 
weighs  Anchor,  and  with  a  fleet  of  160  ships  sets  sail  on  Lady  Day,  An. 
1414. — Sanford^s  Genealogical  History  of  the  Kings.  (2)  The  Earl  of 
March,  of  the  house  of  Clarence,  who  was  to  be  placed  upon  the  throne 
by  the  conspiracy,  informed  the  King.  (3)  This  does  not  refer  to  any 
particular  person.  Bedfellow  was  common  as  a  familiar  appellation 
among  the  nobility  in  olden  time. 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

(^Trumpets) 


the   KING,  SCROOP,  GREY,  CAMBRIDGE  and 

attendants  from  Left. 

KING  HENRY   (Centre) 

Now  sits  the  wind  fair,  and  we  will  aboard. 

My  Lord  of  Cambridge,    and   my   kind   Lord  of 

Masham, 

And  you,  my  gentle  knight,  give  me  your  thoughts. 
Think  you  not,  that  the  powers  we  bear  with  us 
Will  cut  their  passage  through  the  force  of  France; 
Doing  the  execution,  and  the  act, 
For  which  we  have  in  head  assembled  them  ? 

SCROOP   (at  Right  Centre) 
No  doubt,  my  liege,  if  each  man  do  his  best. 
KING  HENRY 

I  doubt  not  that  :  since  we  are  well  persuaded, 
We  carry  not  a  heart  with  us  from  hence 
That  grows  not  in  a  fair  consent  with  ours,(i) 
Nor  leave  not  one  behind  that  does  not  wish 
Success  and  conquest  to  attend  on  us. 

CAMBRIDGE  (at  Left  Centre) 

Never  was  monarch  better  fear'd  and  lov'd 
Than  is  your  majesty  ;  there's  not,  I  think,  a  subject 
That  sits  in  heart-grief  and  uneasiness 
Under  the  sweet  shade  of  your  government. 

GREY   (near  SCROOP) 

True  :  those  that  were  your  father's  enemies 
Have  steep'd  their  galls  in  honey  and  do  serve  you 
With  hearts  create  of  duty  and  of  zeal. 

In  friendly  concord. 

(22) 


ACT  ONE  :  The  FOURTH  Scene 

KING  HENRY 

We  therefore  have  great  cause  of  thankfulness ; 
And  shall  forget  the  office  of  our  hand, 
Sooner  than  quittance  of  desert  and  merit, 
According  to  the  weight  and  worthiness. 

SCROOP 

So  service  shall  with  steeled  sinews  toil, 
And  labour  shall  refresh  itself  with  hope, 
To  do  your  grace  incessant  services. 

KING   HENRY 

We  judge  no  less. —  Uncle  of  Exeter 
Enlarge  the  man  committed  yesterday, 
That  rail'd  against  our  person  ;  we  consider 
It  was  excess  of  wine  that  set  him  on  ; 
And,  on  our  more  advice,  we  pardon  him. 

SCROOP 

That's  mercy,  but  too  much  security : 
Let  him  be  punished,  sovereign ;  lest  example 
Breed,  by  his  sufferance,  more  of  such  a  kind. 

KING   HENRY 
O,  let  us  yet  be  merciful. 

CAMBRIDGE 
So  may  your  highness,  and  yet  punish  too. 

GREY 

Sir,  you  show  great  mercy  if  you  give  him  life, 
After  the  taste  of  much  correction. 

KING  HENRY 

Alas,  your  too  much  love  and  care  of  me 
Are  heavy  orisons  'gainst  this  poor  wretch. 
If  little  faults  proceeding  on  distemper,(i) 

C,(i)  Distempered,  old  meaning  for  having  too  much  liquor. 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

Shall  not  be  wink'd  at,  how  shall  we  stretch  our  eye 

When  capital  crimes,  chew'd,  swallow'd,  and  di- 
gested, 

Appear  before  us  *? — We'll  yet  enlarge  that  man, 

Though  Cambridge,  Scroop,  and  Grey,  in  their  dear 
care, 

And  tender  preservation  of  our  person, 

Would  have  him  punish'd.  And  now  to  our  French 
causes : 

Who  are  the  late  commissioners  ? 

CAMBRIDGE 

I  one,  my  lord ;  (Kneels.) 

Your  highness  bade  me  ask  for  it  to-day. 

SCROOP 
So  did  you  me,  my  liege.  (Kneels) 

GREY 
And  I,  my  royal  sovereign.  (Kneels) 

KING  HENRY  (as  he  takes  rolls  of  parchment  from  EXE- 
TER and  hands  to  each  of  the  three) 

Then,  Richard,  Earl  of  Cambridge,  there  is  yours ; 
There    yours,  Lord  Scroop    of  Masham ;    and,  sir 

knight, 

Grey  of  Northumberland,  this  same  is  yours: 
Read  them  ;  and  know,  we  know  your  worthiness. 
My  Lord  of  Westmoreland  and  uncle  Exeter, 
We  will  aboard  to-night,— 

Qtfhe  conspirators  hopefully  open  their  commission  but, 
reading,  disclose  their  horror  in  their  faces. 

Why,  how  now,  gentlemen  ? 

What  see  you  in  those  papers,  that  you  lose 

So  much  complexion  *? — Look  ye,  how  they  change ! 


ACT  ONE  :   The  FOURTH   Scene 

Their  cheeks  are  paper.(i) — Why,  what  read  you 

there, 

That  hath  so  cowarded  and  chas'd  your  blood 
Out  of  appearance  ? 

CAMBRIDGE 

I  do  confess  my  fault ; 
And  do  submit  me  to  your  highness'  mercy. 

GREY  and  SCROOP 
To  which  we  all  appeal. 

KING  HENRY 

The  mercy  that  was  quick (2)  in  us  but  late, 
By  your  own  counsel  is  suppress'd  and  kill'd : 
You  must  not  dare,  for  shame,  to  talk  of  mercy  ; 
For  your  own  reasons  turn  into  your  bosoms, 
As  dogs  upon  their  masters,  worrying  you. 
See  you,  my  princes,  and  my  noble  peers, 
These  English  monsters  !     My  Lord  of  Cambridge 

here, — 

You  know  how  apt  our  love  was,  to  accord 
To  furnish  him  with  all  appertinents 
Belonging  to  his  honour ;  and  this  man 
Hath,  for  a  few  light  crowns,  lightly  conspir'd, 
And  sworn  unto  the  practices  of  France, 
To  kill  us  here  in  Hampton  :  to  the  which 
This  knight,  no  less  for  bounty  bound  to  us 
Than  Cambridge  is,  hath  likewise  sworn.       But  O ! 
What  shall  I  say  to  thee,  Lord  Scroop  ;  thou  cruel, 
Ingrateful,  savage,  and  inhuman  creature  ! 
Thou,  that  didst  bear  the  key  of  all  my  counsels, 
That  knew'st  the  very  bottom  of  my  soul, 
That  almost  mightst  have  coined  me  into  gold, 
Wouldst  thou  have  practis'd  on  me  for  thy  use; 
May  it  be  possible,  that  foreign  hire 

C.(J)  That  is,  white  as  paper.      (2)  Alive. 

(25) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

Could  out  of  thee  extract  one  spark  of  evil, 

That  might  annoy  my  finger  *?  'tis  so  strange, 

That,  though  the  truth  of  it  stands  off  as  gross(i) 

As  black  from  white,  my  eye  will  scarcely  see  it. 

Treason  and  murther  ever  kept  together, 

As  two  yoke-devils  sworn  to  cither's  purpose, 

Working  so  grossly  in  a  natural  cause, 

That  admiration  did  not  whoop  at  them  ; 

But  thou,  'gainst  all  proportion,  didst  bring  in 

Wonder  to  wait  on  treason  and  on  murther  : 

And  whatsoever  cunning  fiend  it  was 

That  wrought  upon  thee  so  preposterously 

Hath  got  the  voice  (2)  in  hell  for  excellence. 

All  other  devils  that  suggest  by  treasons 

Do  botch  and  bungle  up  damnation 

With  patches,  colours,  and  with  forms,  being  fetch'd 

From  glistering  semblances  of  piety; 

But  he  that  temper'd(3)  thee  bade  thee  stand  up, 

Gave  thee  no  instance  why  thou  should'st  do  treason, 

Unless  to  dub  thee  with  the  name  of  traitor. 

If  that  same  demon  that  hath  gull'd  thee  thus 

Should  with  his  lion  gait(4)  walk  the  whole  world, 

He  might  return  to  vasty  Tartar  back, 

And  tell  the  legions,  "  I  can  never  win 

A  soul  so  easy  as  that  Englishman's." 

O,  how  hast  thou  with  jealousy  infected 

The  sweetness  of  affiance  !     Show  men  dutiful  ? 

Why,  so  didst  thou  :  seem  they  grave  and  learned  ? 

Why,  so  didst  thou  :  come  they  of  noble  family? 

Why,  so  didst  thou  :  seem  they  religious  2 

Why,  so  didst  thou  :  or  are  they  spare  in  diet, 

Free  from  gross  passion  or  of  mirth  or  anger, 

Constant  in  spirit,  not  swerving  with  the  blood, 


Palpable.  (2)  Verdict,  judgment.  (3)  Moulded,  fashioned.  (4) 
An  allusion  to  the  Devil  going  "about  like  a  lion,  seeking  whom  he 
may  devour." 

(26) 


ACT  ONE  :   The   FOURTH   Scene 

Garnish'd  and  deck'd  in  modest  complement, 
Not  working  with  the  eye  without  the  ear, 
And  but  in  purged  judgment  trusting  neither? 
Such  and  so  finely  bolted  didst  thou  seem : 
And  thus  thy  fall  hath  left  a  kind  of  blot, 
To  mark  the  full-fraught  man  and  best  indued 
With  some  suspicion.     I  will  weep  for  thee 
For  this  revolt  of  thine,  methinks,  is  like 
Another  fall  of  man. — Their  faults  are  open. 
Arrest  them  to  the  answer  of  the  law ; 
And  God  acquit  them  of  their  practices ! 

(^furns  away) 

EXETER   (as  he  touches  the  shoulder  of  each  with  his 
baton.     GOWER  draws  the  sword  of  each.) 

I  arrest  thee  of  high  treason,  by  the  name  of  Richard 

Earl  of  Cambridge. 
I  arrest  thee  of  high  treason,  by  the  name  of  Henry 

Lord  Scroop  of  Masham. 
I  arrest  thee  of  high  treason,  by  the  name  of  Thomas 

Grey,  knight,  of  Northumberland. 

SCROOP 

Our  purposes  Heaven  justly  hath  discovered; 
And  I  repent  my  fault  more  than  my  death ; 
Which  I  beseech  your  highness  to  forgive, 
Although  my  body  pay  the  price  of  it. 

CAMBRIDGE 

For  me, — the  gold  of  France  did  not  seduce ; 
Although  I  did  admit  it  as  a  motive, 
The  sooner  to  effect  what  I  intended.(i) 
But  heaven  be  thanked  for  prevention; 
Which  I  in  sufferance  heartily  will  rejoice, 
Beseeching  God  and  you,  to  pardon  me. 

C,(0  The  confession  of  the  Earl  of  Cambridge,  and  his  supplication  for 
mercy  in  his  own  handwriting,  are  in  the  British  Museum. 

(27) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

GREY 

Never  did  faithful  subject  more  rejoice 
At  the  discovery  of  most  dangerous  treason, 
Than  I  do  at  this  hour  joy  o'er  myself, 
Prevented  from  a  damned  enterprise  : 
My  fault,  but  not  my  body,  pardon,  sovereign. 

KING  HENRY 

Heav'n  quit  you  in  its  mercy  !    Hear  your  sentence. 
You  have  conspir'd  against  our  royal  person, 
Join'd  with  an  enemy  proclaim'd,  and  from  his  coffers 
Received  the  golden  earnest  of  our  death, 
Wherein  you  would  have  sold  your  king  to  slaughter, 
His  princes  and  his  peers  to  servitude, 
His  subjects  to  oppression  and  contempt 
And  his  whole  kingdom  into  desolation. 
Touching  our  person,  seek  we  no  revenge  ;(O 
But  we  our  kingdom's  safety  must  so  tender,  (2) 
Whose  ruin  you  have  sought,  that  to  her  laws 
We  do  deliver  you.     Get  you  therefore  hence, 
Poor  miserable  wretches,  to  your  death  : 
The  taste  whereof,  God,  of  his  mercy,  give  you 
Patience  to  endure,  and  true  repentance 
Of  all  your  dear  offences  !  —  Bear  them  hence. 

(^urns  up  to  the  sea  wall.) 

(Exeunt  Conspirators  Right,  guarded.) 

(turning.)     Now,  lords,  for  France;  the  enterprise 

whereof 

Shall  be  to  you,  as  us,  like  glorious. 
We  doubt  not  of  a  fair  and  lucky  war  ; 
Since  Heaven  so  graciously  hath  brought  to  light 


This  speech  is  taken  from  Holinshed:  —  Revenge  herein  touching 
my  person,  though  I  seek  not  ;  yet  for  the  safeguard  of  my  dear  friends, 
and  for  due  preservation  of  all  sorts,  I  am  by  office  to  cause  example  to 
be  showed  ;  get  ye  hence,  therefore,  you  poor  miserable  wretches,  to  the 
receiving  of  your  just  reward,  wherein  God's  majesty  give  you  grace  of 
His  mercy,  and  repentance  of  your  heinous  offences."  (2)  Regard. 

(28) 


ACT    ONE  :   The     FIFTH     Scene 

This  dangerous  treason,  lurking  in  our  way, 
To  hinder  our  beginnings.     We  doubt  not  now 
But  every  rub  is  smoothed  on  our  way. 
Then,  forth,  dear  countrymen ;  let  us  deliver 
Our  puissance  into  the  hand  of  God, 
Cheerly  to  sea ;  the  signs  of  war  advance  : 
No  king  of  England,  if  not  king  of  France. 

(tableau) 

Vie  FIFTH  Scene 


(Exterior  of  the  Boar's  Head,  Eastcheap,  London) 


,  from  Left,  NYM,  BARDOLPH,  PISTOL,  DAME 
QUICKLY  and  BOY,  prepared  for  departure  to  the  war. 

HOSTESS  (to  PISTOL,  as  they  enter  ,  following  the  others) 
Prithee,  honey-sweet  husband,  let  me  bring  thee 
to  Staines. 

PISTOL  (Left) 

No;  for  my  manly  heart  doth  yearn  (i).  — 
Bardolph,  be  blithe  :  Nym,  rouse  thy  vaunting  veins  : 
Boy,  bristle  thy  courage  up;  for  Falstaffhe  is  dead, 
And  we  must  yearn  therefore. 

BARDOLPH  (Right) 

Would  I  were  with  him,  wheresome'er  he  is, 
either  in  heaven  or  in  hell  ! 

HOSTESS  (Centre) 

Nay,  sure,  he's  in  Arthur's(2)  bosom,  if  ever  man 
went  to  Arthur's  bosom.  A'  made  a  finer  end,  and 
went  away  an  it  had  been  any  christom(3)  child  ;  a' 
parted  even  just  between  twelve  and  one,  even  at 

C,(!)  Grieve,  mourn.  (2)  Mrs.  Quickly  is  not  strong  on  Scripture.  — 
Rolfe.  She  means  Abraham's  bosom.  (3)  A  Quicklyism  for  chrisom, 
the  white  vesture  put  upon  the  child  after  baptism. 

(29) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

the  turning  o'  the  tide:  (i)  for  after  I  saw  him  fumble 
with  the  sheets  and  play  with  flowers  and  smile  upon 
his  fingers'  ends,  I  knew  there  was  but  one  way ; 
for  his  nose  was  as  sharp  as  a  pen,  and  a'  babbled  of 
green  fields.  '  How  now,  Sir  John ! '  quoth  I : 
4  what,  man !  be  o'  good  cheer.'  So  a'  cried  out 
4  Lord,  Lord,  Lord  ! '  three  or  four  times.  Now  I, 
to  comfort  him,  bid  him  a'  should  not  think  of  God  ; 
I  hoped  there  was  no  need  to  trouble  himself  with 
any  such  thoughts  yet.  So  a'  bade  me  lay  more 
clothes  on  his  feet :  I  put  my  hand  into  the  bed  and 
felt  them,  and  they  were  as  cold  as  any  stone. 

NYM  (Right  Centre) 
They  say  he  cried  out  of  sack. 

HOSTESS 
Ay,  that  a'  did. 

BARDOLPH 
And  of  women. 

HOSTESS 
Nay,  that  a'  did  not. 

BOY  (Left  Centre) 
Yes,  that  a'  did ;  and  said  they  were  devils  incarnate. 

HOSTESS 

A'  could  never  abide  carnation  ;  'twas  a  colour  he 
never  liked. 

BOY 

Do  you  not  remember,  a'  saw  a  flea  stick  upon 
Bardolph's  nose,  and  a'  said  it  was  a  black  soul  burn- 
ing in  hell-fire  ? 

BARDOLPH 

Well,  the  fuel  is  gone  that  maintained  that  fire  : 
that's  all  the  riches  I  got  in  his  service. 

C.C1)  Alluding  to  the  old  notion  that  nobody  dies  except  at  the  ebb  of 
the  tide. 

(3°) 


ACT    ONE  :    The     FIFTH    Scene 

NYM 

Shall   we   snog*?    the    king  will   be  gone  from 
Southampton. 

PISTOL 

Come,  let's   away.     (Crosses  to  Centre.) — My  love, 

give  me  thy  lips.     (Kisses  QUICKLY.) 
Look  to  my  chattels  and  my  movables  : 
Let  senses  rule ;  ( i )  the  word  is  "  Pitch  and  Pay :  " 
Trust  none; 

For  oaths  are  straws,  men's  faiths  are  wafer-cakes, 
And  hold-fast  is  the  only  dog,  my  duck : 
Therefore,  Caveto(2)  be  thy  counsellor. 
Go,  clear  thy  crystals.  (3) — Yoke-fellows  in  arms, 
Let  us  to  France ;  like  horse-leeches,  my  boys, 
To  suck,  to  suck,  the  very  blood  to  suck ! 

BOY 

And  that's  but  unwholesome  food,  they  say. 

PISTOL 
Touch  her  soft  mouth,  and  march. 

BARDOLPH 
Farewell,  hostess.  (Kisses  her,  then  exit  Right.) 

NYM    (approaches   to   kiss    QUICKLY.     PISTOL   inter- 
feres) 

I  cannot  kiss,  that  is  the  humour  of  it ;  but,  adieu. 

(Exit  Right) 
PISTOL 

Let  housewifery  appear :  keep  close,  I  thee  command. 

HOSTESS 
Farewell;  adieu.    (Exit  PISTOL  Right,  QUICKLY  Left.) 

Let  prudence  govern  you.      (2)  Take  care.      (3)  Dry  thine  eyes. 

(so 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

BOY  (Centre) 

As  young  as  I  am,  I  have  observed  these  three 
swashers(i).  I  am  boy  to  them  all  three :  but  all  they 
three,  though  they  would  serve  me,  could  not  be 
man  to  me;  for  indeed,  three  such  antics(2)  do  not 
amount  to  a  man.  For  Bardolph, — he  is  white-liv- 
ered (3),  and  red-faced;  by  the  means  whereof,  a'  faces 
it  out,  but  fights  not.  For  Pistol, — he  hath  a  killing 
tongue,  and  a  quiet  sword;  by  the  means  whereof 
'a  breaks  words,  and  keeps  whole  weapons.  For 
Nym, — he  hath  heard,  that  men  of  few  words  are 
the  best  men ;  and  therefore  he  scorns  to  say  his 
prayers,  lest  'a  should  be  thought  a  coward :  but  his 
few  bad  words  are  matched  with  as  few  good  deeds ; 
for  'a  never  broke  any  man's  head,  but  his  own,  and 
that  was  against  a  post,  when  he  was  drunk.  They 
will  steal  anything,  and  call  it, — purchase.  Bardolph 
stole  a  lute-case,  bore  it  twelve  leagues,  and  sold  it 
for  three  half-pence.  Nym  and  Bardolph  are  sworn 
brothers  in  filching.(4)!  They  would  have  me  as 
familiar  with  men's  pockets,  as  their  gloves  or  their 
handkerchiefs  :  which  makes  much  against  my  man- 
hood, if  I  should  take  from  another's  pocket,  to  put 
into  mine ;  for  it  is  plain  pocketing  up  of  wrongs.  I 
must  leave  them,  and  seek  some  better  service  :  their 
villainy  goes  against  my  weak  stomach,  and  there- 
fore I  must  cast  it  up.  (Exit  BOY  Right.) 


The   END   of  the   FIRST    ACT 


.  Bullies.  (2)  Buffoons,  fools.  (3)  Cowardly.  (4)  Grey  suggests 
that  Shakespeare  took  Nym's  name  from  the  old  Anglo-Saxon  word 
nitn,  to  filch. 

(32) 


ACT         TWO 

of   KING   HENRY   V 

<The   FIRST  Scene 
(A  Room  in  the  Palace  of  CHARLES  the  SIXTH,  at  Rouen) 

^KiNG  CHARLES  (i)  seated  at  Centre,  the  DAUPHIN,  (2) 
the  CONSTABLE  <?/' FRANCE,  (3)  the  DUKES  of  ORLEANS 
and  BOURBON  from  Centre  to  Left,  RAMBURES  and 
GRANDPRE  and  other  lords  on  Right,  with  Pages  on  either 
side  of  the  KING. 

CHARLES 

Thus  come  the  English  with  full  power  upon  us ; 
And  more  than  carefully  it  us  concerns, 
To  answer  royally  in  our  defences. 
Therefore  the  Dukes  of  Berry,  and  of  Bretange, 
Of  Brabant  and  of  Orleans,  shall  make  forth, — 
And  you,  prince  Dauphin, — with  all  swift  despatch, 
To  line  and  new  repair  our  towns  of  war, 
With  men  of  courage,  and  with  means  defendant. 

DAUPHIN 

My  most  redoubted  father, 
It  is  most  meet  we  arm  us  'gainst  the  foe  : 

C.(i)  Charles  VI.,  surnamed  the  Well-Beloved,  was  King  of  France  dur- 
ing the  most  disastrous  period  of  its  history.  He  ascended  the  throne  in 
1380,  when  only  thirteen  years  of  age.  In  1385  he  married  Isabella  of 
Bavaria,  who  was  equally  remarkable  for  her  beauty  and  her  depravity. 
The  unfortunate  king  was  subject  to  fits  of  insanity,  which  lasted  for 
several  months  at  a  time.  On  the  2ist  of  October,  1422,  seven  years 
after  the  battle  of  Agincourt,  Charles  VI.  ended  his  unhappy  life  at  the 
age  of  fifty-five,  having  reigned  forty-two  years.  (2)  Lewis,  the  Dauphin, 
was  the  eldest  son  of  Charles  VI.  He  was  born  22d  January,  1396, 
and  died  before  his  father,  December  18,  1415,  in  his  twentieth  year. 
History  says  :  "  Shortly  after  the  Battle  of  Agincourt,  either  for  melan- 
choly that  he  had  for  the  loss,  or  by  some  sudden  disease,  Lewis,  Dovphin 
of  Viennois,  heir  apparent  to  the  French  king,  departed  this  life  without 
issue."  (3)  The  Constable,  Charles  D'Albret,  commanded  the  French 
army  at  the  battle  of  Agincourt,  and  was  slain  on  the  field. 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

But  let  us  do  it  with  no  show  of  fear ; 

No,  with  no  more,  than  if  we  heard  that  England 

Were  busied  with  a  Whitsun  morris-dance  (l) ; 

For,  my  good  liege,  she  is  so  idly  king'd, 

Her  sceptre  so  fantastically  borne 

By  a  vain,  giddy,  shallow,  humorous  youth, 

That  fear  attends  her  not. 

CONSTABLE 

O  peace,  prince  Dauphin ! 
You  are  too  much  mistaken  in  this  king : 
With  what  great  state  he  heard  our  embassy, 
How  well  supplied  with  noble  counsellors, 
How  modest  in  exception,  (2)  and  withal, 
How  terrible  in  constant  resolution,— 
Your  grace  shall  find  his  vanities  fore-spent  (3) 
Were  but  the  outside  of  the  Roman  Brutus, 
Covering  discretion  with  a  coat  of  folly. 

DAUPHIN 

Well,  'tis  not  so,  my  lord  high  constable, 
But  though  we  think  it  so,  it  is  no  matter : 
In  case  of  defence,  'tis  best  to  weigh 
The  enemy  more  mighty  than  he  seems. 

QEnter,  from  Right,  MONTJOY  (4),  who  kneels  at  the 
K  ING'S  feet. 

MONTJOY 

Ambassadors  from  Harry,  King  of  England, 
Do  crave  admittance  to  your  majesty. 

C.C1)  An  ancient  dance  in  which  the  performers  were  dressed  in  grotesque 
costume,  with  bells,  etc.  Morris  from  morisco  or  moorish. — Douce. 
(2)  Diffident  and  decent  in  making  objections.  (3)  Past.  Refers  to  his 
rakish  days  when  Prince  of  Wales.  (4)  Mont-joie  is  the  title  of  the  prin- 
cipal King-at-arms  in  France,  as  Garter  is  in  England. 

(34) 


ACT   Two  :    The    FIRST    Scene 

FRENCH  KING 

We'll  give  them  present  audience.     Go,  and  bring 
them.  (Exit  MONT  JOY,  Right.) 

You  see  this  chase  is  hotly  follow'd,  friends. 

DAUPHIN 

Turn  head,  and  stop  pursuit  :  for  coward  dogs 
Most  spend  their  mouths,  (  i  )  when  what  they  seem 

to  threaten 

Runs  far  before  them.     Good  my  sovereign, 
Take  up  the  English  short  ;  and  let  them  know 
Of  what  a  monarchy  you  are  the  head  : 
Self-love,  my  liege,  is  not  so  vile  a  sin 
As  self-neglecting 


,  from  Right,  MONT  JOY,  the  ENGLISH  HERALD, 
the  DUKE  of  EXETER  and  English  Lords  •  they  stand 
Right  of  K.IUG. 

FRENCH  KING 
From  our  brother  of  England  fc? 

EXETER 

From  him  ;  and  thus  he  greets  your  majesty. 

He  wills  you,  in  the  name  of  Heaven, 

That  you  divest  yourself  and  lay  apart 

The  borrow'd  glories,  that  by  gift  of  Heaven, 

By  law  of  nature  and  of  nations,  'long 

To  him  and  to  his  heirs  ;  namely,  the  crown, 

And  all  the  wide-stretched  honours  that  pertain 

By  custom  and  the  ordinance  of  times 

Unto  the  crown  of  France.     That  you  may  know 

'Tis  no  sinister  nor  no  awkward  claim, 

Pick'd  from  the  worm-holes  of  long  vanish'd  days, 

C.(i)  Bark. 

(35) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 


Nor  from  the  dust  of  long  oblivion  rak'd, 
He  sends  you  this  most  memorable  line  (i), 

(Gives  a  paper  to  MONTJOY  who  delivers  it  to  the 

KING.) 

In  every  branch  truly  demonstrative ; 
Willing  you  overlook  this  pedigree : 
And,  when  you  find  him  evenly  (2)  deriv'd 
From  his  most  fam'd  of  famous  ancestors, 
Edward  the  Third,  he  bids  you  then  resign 
Your  crown  and  kingdom,  indirectly  held 
From  him  the  native  and  true  challenger. 

FRENCH  KING 
Or  else  what  follows  *? 

EXETER 

Bloody  constraint ;  for  if  you  hide  the  crown 
Even  in  your  hearts,  there  will  he  rake  for  it : 
This  is  his  claim,  his  threat'ning,  and  my  message ; 
Unless  the  Dauphin  be  in  presence  here, 
To  whom  expressly  I  bring  greeting  too. 

FRENCH  KING 

For  us,  we  will  consider  of  this  further ; 
To-morrow  shall  you  bear  our  full  intent 
Back  to  our  brother  of  England. 

DAUPHIN 

For  the  Dauphin, 
I  stand  here  for  him.     What  to  him  from  England  ? 

EXETER 

Scorn  and  defiance ;  slight  regard,  contempt. 
And  anything  that  may  not  misbecome 
The  mighty  sender,  doth  he  prize  you  at. 
Thus  says  the  king :  and,  if  your  father's  highness 

C.(:)  Pedigree.      Exeter  holds  the  document  in  his  hand.     (2)   In  a 
straight  line. 

(36) 


ACT    Two  :    The    FIRST    Scene 


Do  not,  in  grant  of  all  demands  at  large, 
Sweeten  the  bitter  mock  (i)  you  sent  his  majesty, 
He'll  call  you  to  so  hot  an  answer  of  it, 
That  caves  and  womby  vaultages  of  France 
Shall  chide  your  trespass,  and  return  your  mock 
In  second  accent  of  his  ordinance  (2). 

DAUPHIN 

Say,  if  my  father  render  fair  return, 
It  is  against  my  will ;  for  I  desire 
Nothing  but  odds  with  England ;  to  that  end, 
As  matching  to  his  youth  and  vanity, 
I  did  present  him  with  those  Paris  balls. 

EXETER 
He'll  make  your  Paris  Louvre  (3)  shake  for  it. 

FRENCH  KING  (rises') 
To-morrow  shall  you  know  our  mind  at  full. 

EXETER 

Despatch  us  with  all  speed,  lest  that  our  king 
Come  here  to  question  our  delay ; 
For  he  is  footed  (4)  in  this  land  already. 

FRENCH  KING 

You  shall  soon  be  despatch'd,  with  fair  conditions. 
A  night  is  but  small  breath,  and  little  pause, 
To  answer  matters  of  this  consequence,      (tableau.) 

RUMOUR  appears  as  Chorus 
Thus  with  imagin'd  wing  our  swift  scene  flies, 
In  motion  of  no  less  celerity 

C,(i)  That  is,  the  insult  conveyed  in  the  present  of  tennis  balls  in  Act  I., 
Scene  2.     (2)  Ordnance.     The  spelling  is  a  concession  to  the  rhythm. 

(3)  According  to  some  writers  the  ancient  palace  of  the  Louvre  was  built 
in  the  seventh  century.     What  is  now  called  the   "Old  Louvre"  was 
begun  in  1528  under  Francis  I.,  and  completed  by  Henry  II.  in  1548. 

(4)  That  is,  he  has  set  foot,  is  landed. 

(37) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 


Than  that  of  thought.    Suppose  that  you  have  seen 
The  well  appointed  king  at  Hampton  pier 
Embark  his  royalty;  (i)  and  his  brave  fleet 
With  silken  streamers  the  young  Phoebus  fanning. 
Play  with  your  fancies ;  and  in  them  behold 
Upon  the  hempen  tackle  ship-boys  climbing : 
Hear  the  shrill  whistle  which  doth  order  give 
To  sounds  confus'd :  behold  the  threaden  sails, 
Borne  with  the  invisible  and  creeping  wind, 
Draw  the  huge  bottoms  through  the  furrow'd  sea, 
Breasting  the  lofty  surge :  O,  do  but  think 
You  stand  upon  the  rivage,  (2)  and  behold 
A  city  on  the  inconstant  billows  dancing; 
For  so  appears  this  fleet  majestical, 
Holding  due  course  to  Harfleur.     Follow,  follow ! 
Grapple  your  minds  to  sternage  (3)  of  this  navy ; 
And  leave  your  England,  as  dead  midnight  still, 
Guarded  with  grandsires,  babies,  and  old  women, 
Either  past  or  not  arriv'd  to  pith  and  puissance: 
For  who  is  he,  whose  chin  is  but  enrich'd 
With  one  appearing  hair,  that  will  not  follow 
These  cull'd  and  choice-drawn  cavaliers  to  France  *? 
Work,  work  your  thoughts,  and  therein  see  a  siege  : 
Behold  the  ordnance  on  their  carriages, 
With  fatal  mouths  gaping  on  girded  Harfleur, 
The  nimble  gunner 

With  linstock  (4)  now  the  devilish  cannon  touches, 
And  down  goes  all  before  them. 

C,(i)  The  place  where  Henry's  army  was  embarked,  at  Southampton,  is 
now  entirely  covered  with  the  sea,  and  called  Westport.  (2)  Shore.  (3)  The 
stern,  hence  in  the  wake  of  this  navy.  Some  read  steerage.  (4)  The  staff 
to  which  the  match  is  fixed  when  the  ordnance  is  fired. — Johnson. 


ACT  Two  :  The   SECOND    Scene 


SECOND    Scene 


English   Entrenchment  before    Harfleur.     KING 
HENRY  and  his  army) 

KING  HENRY 

Once  more  unto  the  breach,  dear  friends,  once  more ; 

Or  close  the  wall  up  with  our  English  dead  ! 

In  peace  there's  nothing  so  becomes  a  man 

As  modest  stillness  and  humility  : 

But  when  the  blast  of  war  blows  in  our  ears, 

Then  imitate  the  action  of  the  tiger ; 

Stiffen  the  sinews,  summon  up  the  blood, 

Disguise  fair  nature  with  hard-favour'd  rage  : 

Then  lend  the  eye  a  terrible  aspect; 

Let  it  pry  through  the  portage  (i)  of  the  head 

Like  the  brass  cannon ;  let  the  brow  o'erwhelm  it, 

As  fearfully  as  doth  a  galled  rock 

O'erhang  and  jutty  (2)  his  confounded  (3)  base, 

Swill'd  with  the  wild  and  wasteful  ocean. 

Now  set  the  teeth,  and  stretch  the  nostril  wide ; 

Hold  hard  the  breath,  and  bend  up  every  spirit 

To  his  full  height ! — On,  on,  you  nobless  (4)  Eng- 
lish, 

Whose  blood  is  fet  (5)  from  fathers  of  war-proof! 

Fathers  that,  like  so  many  Alexanders, 

Have  in  these  parts  from  morn  till  even  fought, 

And  sheath'd  their  swords  for  lack  of  argument. 

Dishonour  not  your  mothers ;  now  attest 

That  those  whom  you  call'd  fathers  did  beget  you. 

Be  copy  now  to  men  of  grosser  blood, 

And  teach  them  how  to  war ! — And  you,  good  yeo- 
men, 

C.(i)  Comparing  the  eyes  to  cannon  prying  through  portholes.  (2) 
Jutting,  common  term  applied  to  land.  (3)  Confounded  is  said  to  have 
often  the  same  meaning  as  destroyed.  (4)  The  original  of  1623  gives 
Noblish  English.  Some  authorities  give  noblest.  (5)  Fetched. 

(39) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

Whose  limbs  were  made  in  England,  show  us  here 

The  mettle  of  your  pasture  ;  let  us  swear 

That  you  are  worth  your  breeding :  which  I  doubt 

not; 

For  there  is  none  of  you  so  mean  and  base 
That  hath  not  noble  lustre  in  your  eyes. 
I  see  you  stand  like  greyhounds  in  the  slips  (i), 
Straining  upon  the  start.     The  game's  afoot ; 
Follow  your  spirit :  and,  upon  this  charge, 
Cry — "  God    for    Harry  !    England  !     and    Saint 

George ! "  (tableau.) 

'The  THIRD  Scene 


e  DUKE  of  GLOSTER'S  Quarters) 


QEnter,  alarmedly,  NYM,  BARDOLPH,  PISTOL  and  BOY. 

BARDOLPH 
On,  on,  on,  on,  on  !  to  the  breach,  to  the  breach  ! 

NYM 

Tray  thee,  corporal,  stay  ;  the  knocks  are  too  hot  ; 
and,  for  mine  own  part,  I  have  not  a  case  of  lives  :  (2) 
the  humour  of  it  is  too  hot,  that  is  the  very  plain- 

song  (3)  of  *• 

PISTOL 

The  plain  -  song  is  most  just  ;  for  humours  do 
abound  ; 

Knocks  go  and  come  ;   our  vassals  drop  and  die  ; 
And  sword  and  shield, 
In  bloody  field, 
Doth  win  immortal  fame. 


Noose  about  the  neck  in  which  the  dogs  were  held  until  started 
for  the  game.  (2)  Not  merely  one  life  but  two  or  more  lives.  Figure 
drawn  from  a  case  of  pistols  or  knives.  (3)  That  is,  with  no  variations. 

(-40) 


ACT    Two   :   The   THIRD    Scene 

BOY 

'Would   I   were   in   an   alehouse   in  London  !    I 
would  give  all  my  fame  for  a  pot  of  ale  and  safety. 

PISTOL 
And  I  : 

If  wishes  would  prevail  with  me, 
My  purpose  should  not  fail  with  me, 
But  thither  I  would  hie. 

BOY 

As  duly,  but  not  as  truly, 
As  bird  doth  sing  on  bough. 
(Exeunt,  each  trying  to  push  the  other  before,  crying 

"  On,  on.") 


,  from  Right,  GOWER  and,  from  Left,  FLUEL- 
LEN(I). 

GOWER  (Right  Centre) 

Captain  Fluellen,  you  must  come  presently  to  the 
mines  ;  the  Duke  of  Gloster  would  speak  with  you. 

FLUELLEN  (Left  Centre) 

To  the  mines  !  tell  you  the  duke  it  is  not  so  good 
.to  come  to  the  mines  :  for,  look  you,  the  mines  is  not 
according  to  the  disciplines  of  the  war  ;  the  concavi- 
ties of  it  is  not  sufficient  ;  for,  look  you,  th'  athversars 
(you  may  discuss  unto  the  duke,  look  you)  is  digged 
himself  four  yards  under  the  countermines;  by  Saint 
Tavy,  I  think  a'  will  plow  up  all,  if  there  is  not  bet- 
ter directions. 

GOWER 

The  Duke  of  Gloster,  to  whom  the  order  of  the 

C,(i)An  approximation  to  the  pronunciation  of  the  frequently  used 
Welsh  name,  Llewellyn.  A  soldierly  pedant,  in  favour  with  Henry,  who 
further  on  acknowledges  his  own  Welsh  blood.  In  the  course  of  the 
scene  Fluellen,  a  Welshman,  Jamy,  a  Scotchman,  and  Macmorris,  an 
Irishman,  each  speaks  with  his  native  inflection  and  dialect. 

(40 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

siege  is  given,  (i)  is  altogether  directed  by  an  Irish- 
man ;  a  very  valiant  gentleman,  i'  faith. 

FLUELLEN 
It  is  Captain  Macmorris,  is  it  not? 

GOWER 
I  think  it  be. 

FLUELLEN 

By  Saint  Tavy,  he  is  an  ass  as  in  the  'orld  :  I  will 
verily  as  much  in  his  peard;  he  has  no  more  direc- 
tions in  the  true  disciplines  of  the  wars,  look  you,  of 
the  Roman  disciplines,  than  is  a  puppy-dog. 

GOWER  (indicating  off  Left) 

Here  5a  comes,  and  the  Scots  captain,  Captain 
Jamy,  with  him. 

FLUELLEN 

Captain  Jamy  is  a  marvellous  falorous  gentleman, 
that  is  certain  ;  and  of  great  expedition  and  knowl- 
edge in  the  ancient  wars,  upon  my  particular  knowl- 
edge of  his  directions  :  by  Saint  Tavy,  he  will  main- 
tain his  argument  as  well  as  any  military  man  in  the 
'orld  in  the  disciplines  of  the  pristine  wars  of  the 
Romans. 

,  from  Left,  MACMORRIS  and  JAMY. 

JAMY   (Left  Centre) 
I  say,  gud-day,  Captain  Fluellen. 

FLUELLEN 
God-den  to  your  worship,  goot  Captain  Jamy. 


The  Duke  of  Gloucester,  to  who  the  ordre  of  the  assaulte  was 
comitted,  made  thre  mynes  under  the  ground,  and  approached  the  walles 
with  ordinaunce  and  engynes  and  would  not  suffer  theim  within  to  reste 
at  any  tyme  —  Hall's  Chronicle. 

(42) 


ACT    Two:    The   THIRD    Scene 

GOWER 

How  now,  Captain  Macmorris?  have  you  quit 
the  mines'?  have  the  pioneers  given  o'er? 

MACMORRIS   (Left) 

By  Saint  Patrick,  tish  ill  done  :  the  work  ish  give 
over,  the  trumpet  sound  the  retreat.  By  my  hand 
I  swear,  and  my  father's  soul,  the  work  ish  ill  done ; 
it  ish  give  over ;  I  would  have  blowed  up  the  town. 
O,  tish  ill  done,  tish  ill  done ;  by  my  hand,  tish  ill 
done. 

FLUELLEN 

Captain  Macmorris,  I  peseech  you  now,  will  you 
voutsafe  me,  look  you,  a  few  disputations  with  you, 
as  partly  touching  or  concerning  the  disciplines  of 
the  war,  the  Roman  wars,  in  the  way  of  argument, 
look  you,  and  friendly  communication?  partly  to 
satisfy  my  opinion,  and  partly  for  the  satisfaction, 
look  you,  of  my  mind,  as  touching  the  direction  of 
the  military  discipline ;  that  is  the  point. 

JAMY 

It  sail  be  vary  gud,  gud  feith,  gud  captains  bath ; 
and  I  sail  quit  (i)  you  with  gud  leve,  as  I  may 
pick  occasion,  that  sail  I,  marry. 

MACMORRIS 

It  is  no  time  to  discourse ;  the  day  is  hot,  and  the 
weather,  and  the  wars,  and  the  kings,  and  the  dukes : 
it  is  no  time  to  discourse.  The  town  is  beseeched, 
and  the  trumpet  calls  us  to  the  breach ;  and  we 
talk,  and  s'death,  do  nothing ;  'tis  shame  for  us  all : 
by  Saint  Patrick,  'tis  shame  to  stand  still;  it  is 
shame,  by  my  hand :  and  there  is  throats  to  be  cut, 
and  works  to  be  done ;  and  there  ish  nothing  done. 

C.(i)  Requite,  that  is,  answer. 
(43) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

JAMY 

By  the  mess,  (i)  ere  these  eyes  of  mine  take  them- 
selves to  slumber,  aile  do  gude  service,  or  aile  ligge 
i'  the  grund  for  it ;  ay,  or  go  to  death ;  and  aile  pay 
it  as  valorously  as  I  may,  that  sail  I  surely  do,  that 
is  the  breff  and  the  long.  Marry,  I  wad  full  fain 
heard  some  question  'tween  you  tway. 

FLUELLEN 

Captain  Macmorris,  I  think,  look  you,  under 
your  correction,  there  is  not  many  of  your  nation— 

MACMORRIS 

Of  my  nation  ?  What  ish  my  nation  ?  ish  it  a 
villain,  and  a  bastard,  and  a  knave,  and  a  rascal  *? 
What  ish  my  nation  ?  Who  talks  of  my  nation  *? 

FLUELLEN 

Look  you,  if  you  take  the  matter  otherwise  than 
is  meant,  Captain  Macmorris,  peradventure  I  shall 
think  you  do  not  use  me  with  affability  as  in  dis- 
cretion you  ought  to  use  me,  look  you ;  being  as 
goot  a  man  as  yourself,  both  in  the  disciplines  of 
wars,  and  in  the  derivation  of  my  birth,  and  in  other 
particularities. 

MACMORRIS 

I  do  not  know  you  so  good  a  man  as  myself: 
s'blood,  I  will  cut  off  your  head. 

(MACMORRIS  raises  battle-axe.     JAMY  and  GOWER 

interfered) 
GOWER 

Gentlemen,  both,  you  will  mistake  each  other. 
(A  parley  sounded  on  the  trumpets?) 

CX1)  Mass.     A  common  oath  then.      Used  by  King  Henry  later. 
(44) 


ACT  Two  :  The  FOURTH   Scene 

GOWER 

The  town  sounds  a  parley. 

(Exeunt  GOWER  and  JAMY,  Right.    FLUELLEN  and 
MACMORRIS  cross  to  Right.} 

FLUELLEN 

Captain  Macmorris,  when  there  is  more  better 
opportunity  to  be  required,  look  you,  I  will  be  so 
bold  as  to  tell  you,  I  know  the  disciplines  of  war ; 
and  there  is  an  end.  (Exeunt  Right?) 

The   FOURTH   Scene 


(The  English  Entrenchment  at  Harfleur) 

Centre  KING  HENRY  and  at  Left  Centre  his  army  ; 
the  GOVERNOR  of  HARFLEUR  (i)  and  attendants  stand 
forward  Right  Front. 

KING  HENRY 

How  yet  resolves  the  governor  of  the  town  ? 
This  is  the  latest  parle  (2)  we  will  admit  : 
Therefore  to  our  best  mercy  give  yourselves  ; 
Or,  like  to  men  proud  of  destruction, 
Defy  us  to  our  worst  ;  for,  as  I  am  a  soldier, 
A  name  that  in  my  thoughts  becomes  me  best, 
If  I  begin  the  battery  once  again, 
I  will  not  leave  the  half-achieved  Harfleur 
Till  in  her  ashes  she  lie  buried. 
The  gates  of  mercy  shall  be  all  shut  up, 
And  the  flesh'd  (3)  soldier,  rough  and  hard  of  heart, 
In  liberty  of  bloody  hand  shall  range 
With  conscience  wide  as  hell,  mowing  like  grass 
Your  fresh-fair  virgins  and  your  flowering  infants. 


Le  Sieur  de  Estoteville.      (2)    Parley,   interview.      (3)  Who   has 
tasted  blood  and  whose  animal  passions  are  aroused. 

(45) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

What  is  it  then  to  me,  if  impious  war, 

Array'd  in  flames,  like  to  the  prince  of  fiends, 

Do,  with  his  smirch'd  complexion,  all  fell  feats  (i) 

Enlink'd  to  waste  and  desolation  *? 

What  is  't  to  me,  when  you  yourselves  are  cause, 

If  your  pure  maidens  fall  into  the  hand 

Of  hot  and  forcing  violation? 

What  rein  can  hold  licentious  wickedness 

When  down  the  hill  he  holds  his  fierce  career  ? 

We  may  as  bootless  spend  our  vain  command 

Upon  the  enraged  soldiers  in  their  spoil, 

As  send  precepts  to  the  leviathan 

To  come  ashore.      Therefore,   you    men    of  Har- 

fleur, 

Take  pity  of  your  town  and  of  your  people, 
Whiles  yet  my  soldiers  are  in  my  command ; 
Whiles  yet  the  cool  and  temperate  wind  of  grace 
O'erblows  the  filthy  and  contagious  clouds 
Of  headly  murther,  spoil  and  villainy. 
If  not,  why,  in  a  moment,  look  to  see 
The  blind  and  bloody  soldier  with  foul  hand 
Defile  the  locks  of  your  shrill-shriek  ing  daughters  ; 
Your  fathers  taken  by  the  silver  beards, 
And  their  most  reverend  heads  dashed  to  the  walls; 
Your  naked  infants  spitted  upon  pikes ; 
Whiles  the  mad  mothers  with  their  howls  confus'd 
Do  break  the  clouds,  as  did  the  wives  of  Jewry  (2) 
At  Herod's  bloody-hunting  slaughtermen. 
What  say  you  ?  will  you  yield,  and  this  avoid  ? 
Or,  guilty  in  defence,  be  thus  destroyed? 

GOVERNOR  confers  a  moment  with  his  atten- 
dants,    ^hen  the  flag  of  truce  is  lowered  and  the 
French  kneel  before  KING  HENRY.) 


C/0  All  the  savage  practices  naturally  concomitant  to  the  sack  of  cities. 
— Johnson.     (2)  Judea. 

(46) 


ACT    Two  :   The    FIFTH    Scene 

GOVERNOR 

Our  expectation  hath  this  day  an  end : 
The  Dauphin,  whom  of  succours  we  entreated, 
Returns  us — that  his  powers  are  yet  not  ready 
To  raise  so  great  a  siege.     Therefore,  great  king, 
We  yield  our  town  and  lives  to  thy  soft  mercy : 
Enter  our  gates  :  dispose  of  us  and  ours  ; 
For  we  no  longer  are  defensible. 

KING  HENRY 
Open  your  gates. 

(ffbe  GOVERNOR  and  attendants  retire  off  Right?) 

Come,  uncle  Exeter, 

Go  you  and  enter  Harfleur ;  there  remain. 
And  fortify  it  strongly  'gainst  the  French  : 
Use  mercy  to  them  all.     For  us,  dear  uncle, — 
The  winter  coming  on,  and  sickness  growing 
Upon  our  soldiers, — we  will  retire  to  Calais. 
To-night  in  Harfleur  we  will  be  your  guest ; 
To-morrow  for  the  march  are  we  address'd  (i). 

GOVERNOR  of  HARFLEUR  and  attendants 
return  and,  kneeling,  present  the  keys  of  the 
city  to  KING  HENRY.)     (tableau.} 

FIFTH  Scene 


(A  Room  in  the  Palace  of  CHARLES  the  SIXTH) 


CHARLES  at  Centre,  the  DAUPHIN,  the  CONSTA- 
BLE, Lords,  herald,  and  attendants  Left  and  Right. 

FRENCH  KING 
'Tis  certain  he  hath  passed  the  River  Somme.  (2) 

C.(i)  Prepared.  (2)  The  French  King  being  at  Roan,  and  hering  that 
the  King  of  England  had  passed  the  water  of  Some,  was  not  a  little  dis- 
content. *  *  *  And  so  Mountjoy,  King  at  Armes,  was  sent  to  the 
King  of  Englande  to  defye  him  as  the  enemie  of  Fraunce.  —  Stowe. 

(47) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

CONSTABLE 

And  if  he  be  not  fought  withal  (i),  my  lord, 
Let  us  not  live  in  France ;  let  us  quit  all, 
And  give  our  vineyards  to  a  barbarous  people.  (2) 

BOURBON 

Mort  de  ma  vie  /If  they  march  along 
Unfought  withal,  but  I  will  sell  my  dukedom, 
To  buy  a  slobbery  (3)  and  a  dirty  farm 
In  that  nook-shotten  (4)  isle  of  Albion. 
Dieu  de  battailes  !  where  have  they  this  mettle  ? 

FRENCH  KING 

Where  is  Montjoy,  the  herald  ?  speed  him  hence ; 
Let  him  greet  England  with  our  sharp  defiance. 
Up,  princes;  and,  with  spirit  of  honour  edged. 
More  sharper  than  your  swords,  hie  to  the  field ; 
Charles  De-la-bret,  high  constable  of  France ; 
You  dukes  of  Orleans,  Bourbon,  and  of  Berri, 
Alen9on,  Brabant,  Bar,  and  Burgundy ; 
Jacques  Chatillon,  Grandpre,  and  Charolois ; 
High  dukes,  great  princes,  barons,  lords  and  knights, 
For  your  great  seats,  now  quit  you  of  great  shames. 
Bar  Harry  England,  that  sweeps  through  our  land 
With   pennons  (5)    painted   in  the  blood  of  Har- 

fleur: 

Rush  on  his  host  as  doth  the  melted  snow 
Upon  the  valleys ;  whose  low  vassal  seat 
The  Alps  doth  spit  and  void  his  rheum  upon ; 
Go  down  upon  him, — you  have  power  enough, — 
And  in  a  captive  chariot  into  Rouen 
Bring  him  our  prisoner. 

C,(0  Emphatic  form  of  with.  (2)  The  French,  Italians,  and  Spaniards, 
even  in  Shakespeare's  day,  regarded  the  English  as  semi-barbarians. 
(3)  Wet  and  foul.  (4)  Uneven  shore,  shot  with  nooks.  (5)  Schmidt 
thinks  the  meaning  of  wings  and  flags  are  here  combined. — Rolfe. 

(48) 


ACT    Two   :   The    SIXTH    Scene 

CONSTABLE 

This  becomes  the  great. 
Sorry  am  I  his  numbers  are  so  few, 
His  soldiers  sick  and  famished  in  their  march ; 
For,  I  am  sure,  when  he  shall  see  our  army, 
He'll  drop  his  heart  into  the  sink  of  fear, 
And,  for  achievement  (i),  offer  us  his  ransom. 

FRENCH  KING 

Therefore,  lord  constable,  haste  on  Montjoy; 
And  let  him  say  to  England,  that  we  send 
To  know  what  willing  ransom  he  will  give. 
Prince  Dauphin,  you  shall  stay  with  us  in  Rouen. 

DAUPHIN 
Not  so,  I  do  beseech  your  majesty. 

FRENCH  KING 

Be  patient,  for  you  shall  remain  with  us. 
Now,  forth,  lord  constable,  and  princes  all; 
And  quickly  bring  us  word  of  England's  fall. 

(Tableau.} 

The  SIXTH  Scene 


(A  view  in  Picardy) 


QEnter  GOWER  and  FLUELLEN,  from  either  side,  meeting. 

GOWER 

How  now,  Captain  Fluellen !  come  you  from  the 
bridge  <?  (2) 

C.(i)  Achievement  in  the  old  chivalry  probably  had  some  precise  signifi- 
cance not  handed  down  to  us.  The  King,  in  Act  III.,  scene  3,  says 
"Bid  them  achieve  me."  The  meaning  here  is  plainly  that  instead  of 
fighting  he  will  offer  to  pay  ransom.  (2)  The  reference  here  is  to  an 
historical  fact.  After  Henry  had  passed  the  Somme,  the  French  at- 
tempted to  break  down  the  only  bridge  over  the  Ternoise,  at  Blangy, 
and  thus  cut  off  his  passage  to  Calais  ;  but  Henry,  learning  their  design, 
sent  forward  troops  who  put  the  French  to  flight,  and  guarded  the  bridge 
until  the  English  had  crossed. 

(49) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

FLUELLEN 

I  assure  you,  there  is  very  excellent  services  com- 
mitted at  the  pridge.  (^Trumpets.) 

Hark  you,  the  king  is  coming,  and  I  must  speak 
with  him  from  the  pridge.  (ffbey  move  Lefty 


,  from  Right,  KING  HENRY,  GLOSTER,  BED- 
FORD, other  nobles  and  soldiers,  and  pages  bearing  the 
KING'S  helmet  and  shield. 

Got  pless  your  majesty  ! 

KING  HENRY  (Centre) 
How  now,  Fluellen  !  earnest  thou  from  the  bridge  ? 

FLUELLEN  (Left) 

Ay,  so  please  your  majesty.  The  Duke  of  Exe- 
ter has  very  gallantly  maintained  the  pridge  :  the 
French  is  gone  off,  look  you  :  and  there  is  gallant 
and  most  prave  passages  ;  marry,  th'  athversary  was 
have  possession  of  the  pridge  ;  but  he  is  enforced  to 
retire,  and  the  Duke  of  Exeter  is  master  of  the 
pridge  :  I  can  tell  your  majesty,  the  duke  is  a  prave 
man. 

KING  HENRY 

What  men  have  you  lost,  Fluellen? 

FLUELLEN 

The  perdition  of  th'  athversary  hath  peen  very 
great,  reasonable  great:  marry,  for  my  part,  I  think 
the  duke  hath  lost  never  a  man,  but  one  that  is  like 
to  pe  executed  for  robbing  a  church,  one  Bardolph, 
if  your  majesty  know  the  man  ;  his  face  is  all  bu- 
bukles  (i),  and  whelks,  and  knobs,  and  flames  of  fire  ; 
and  his  lip  plows  at  his  nose,  and  it  is  like  a  coal  of 

C,(i)  A  corrupt  word,  formed  half  of  carbuncle,  half  of  bubo,  probably 
meaning  a  red  pimple.  —  Schmidt. 

(5°) 


ACT    Two  :  The    SIXTH    Scene 


fire,  sometimes   plue  and  sometimes  red;    but  his 
nose  is  executed,  and  his  fire's  out. 

KING  HENRY 

We  would  have  all  such  offenders  so  cut  off:  (i) 
and  we  give  express  charge,  that,  in  our  marches 
through  the  country,  there  be  nothing  compelled  from 
the  villages,  nothing  taken  but  paid  for,  none  of  the 
French  upbraided  or  abused  in  disdainful  language  ; 
for  when  lenity  and  cruelty  play  for  a  kingdom,  the 
gentler  gamester  is  the  soonest  winner. 


from    Right,    MONTJOY,    with     trumfeters. 
MONT  JOY  kneels,  Right  Centre. 

MONTJOY 
You  know  me  by  my  habit  (2). 

KING  HENRY 

Well,  then,  I  know  thee.  What  shall  I  know  of 
thee? 

MONTJOY 
My  master's  mind. 

KING  HENRY 
Unfold  it. 

MONTJOY  (rises) 

Thus  says  my  king  :  —  Say  thou  to  Harry  of  Eng- 
land, Though  we  seemed  dead,  we  did  but  sleep  : 
Advantage  is  a  better  soldier  than  rashness.  Tell 

C,(i)  It  will  be  seen  by  the  following  extract  from  an  anonymous  chron- 
icler how  minutely  Shakespeare  has  adhered  to  history  :  '  '  There  was 
brought  to  the  king  in  that  plain  a  certain  English  robber,  who,  contrary 
to  the  laws  of  God  and  the  Royal  proclamation,  had  stolen  from  a  church 
a  pix  of  copper  gilt,  found  in  his  sleeve,  which  he  happened  to  mistake 
for  gold,  in  which  the  Lord's  body  was  kept  ;  and  in  the  next  village 
where  he  passed  the  night,  by  decree  of  the  King  he  was  put  to  death  on 
the  gallows."  Titus  Livius  relates  that  Henry  commanded  his  army  to 
halt  until  the  sacrilege  was  expiated.  lie  first  caused  the  pix  to  be  re- 
stored to  the  church,  and  the  offender  was  then  led,  bound  as  a  thief, 
through  the  army,  and  afterwards  hung  upon  a  tree,  that  every  man 
might  behold  him.  (2)  Herald's  coat. 

(so 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

him,  we  could  have  rebuked  him  at  Harfleur  ;  but 
that  we  thought  not  good  to  bruise  an  injury  till  it 
were  full  ripe.  Now  we  speak  upon  our  cue,  (  i  )  and 
our  voice  is  imperial  ;  England  shall  repent  his  folly, 
see  his  weakness,  and  admire  our  sufferance.  Bid 
him,  therefore,  consider  of  his  ransom  :  which  must 
proportion  (2)  the  losses  we  have  borne,  the  subjects 
we  have  lost,  the  disgrace  we  have  digested  (3).  For 
our  losses  his  exchequer  is  too  poor  ;  for  the  effusion 
of  our  blood,  the  muster  of  his  kingdom  too  faint 
a  number;  and,  for  our  disgrace,  his  own  person 
kneeling  at  our  feet,  but  a  weak  and  worthless  sat- 
isfaction. To  this  add  —  defiance;  and  tell  him  for 
conclusion,  he  hath  betrayed  his  followers,  whose 
condemnation  is  pronounced.  So  far  my  king  and 
master,  so  much  my  office. 

KING  HENRY 

What  is  thy  name  *?     I  know  thy  quality  (4). 
MONTJOY 

Montjoy. 

KING  HENRY 

Thou  dost  thy  office  fairly.     Turn  thee  back, 
And  tell  thy  king  I  do  not  seek  him  now; 
But  could  be  willing  to  march  on  to  Calais 
Without  impeachment  (5)  ;  for,  to  say  the  sooth,  (6) 
Though  't  is  no  wisdom  to  confess  so  much 
Unto  an  enemy  of  craft  and  vantage, 
My  people  are  with  sickness  much  enfeebled, 
My  numbers  lessen'd,  and  those  few  I  have 
Almost  no  better  than  so  many  French  ; 
Who  when  they  were  in  health,  I  tell  thee,  herald, 
I  thought  upon  one  pair  of  English  legs 
Did  march  three  Frenchmen.  —  Yet,  forgive  me  God, 


In  our  turn.      (2)  Be  in  proportion  to.     (3)  Put  up  with.     (4)  Pro- 
fession.    (5)  Hindrance,  impediment.      (6)  Truth. 

(s*) 


ACT    Two  :  The    SIXTH    Scene 

That  I  do  brag  thus! — This  your  air  of  France 
Hath  blown  that  vice  in  me  ;  I  must  repent. 
Go  therefore,  tell  thy  master  here  I  am : 
My  ransom  is  this  frail  and  worthless  trunk, 
My  army  but  a  weak  and  sickly  guard ; 
Yet,  God  before,  tell  him  we  will  come  on, 
Though  France  himself  and  such  another  neighbour 
Stand    in  our  way.      There  's  for  thy  labour,  (i) 

Montjoy.  (Hands  pursed) 

Go,  bid  thy  master  well  advise  himself: 
If  we  may  pass,  we  will ;  if  we  be  hinder'd, 
We  shall  your  tawny  ground  with  your  red  blood 
Discolour:  (2)  and  so,  Montjoy,  fare  you  well. 
The  sum  of  all  our  answer  is  but  this : 
We  would  not  seek  a  battle,  as  we  are, 
Nor,  as  we  are,  we  say  we  will  not  shun  it : 
So  tell  your  master. 

MONTJOY 
I  shall  deliver  so.     Thanks  to  your  highness. 

(MONTJOY  and  trumpeters  Exeunt,  Right?) 

GLOSTER  (Left  Centre) 
I  hope  they  will  not  come  upon  us  now. 

KING  HENRY 

We  are  in  God's  hand,  brother,  not  in  theirs. 
March  to  the  bridge ;  it  now  draws  toward  night. 
Beyond  the  river  we'll  encamp  ourselves, 
And  on  to-morrow  bid  them  march  away. 

(Exeunt,  Left.) 

The    END    of   the    SECOND    ACT 

C.(i)  It  was  customary  to  reward  a  herald,  no  matter  what  was  his  mes- 
sage. (2)  My  desire  is,  that  none  of  you  be  so  unadvised,  as  to  be  the 
occasion  that  I,  in  my  defence,  shall  colour  and  make  red  yotir  tawny 
ground  with  the  effusion  of  Christian  blood.  When  he  (Henry)  had  thus 
answered  the  Herald,  he  gave  him  a  great  reward,  and  licensed  him  to 
depart.  — Holinshed. 

(53) 


ACT      THREE 

of  KING    HENRY    V 

RUMOUR  appears  as  Chorus 

Now  entertain  conjecture  of  a  time 

When  creeping  murmur  and  the  poring  dark, 

Fills  the  wide  vessel  of  the  universe. 

From  camp  to  camp,  through   the  foul   womb  of 

night, 

The  hum  of  either  army  stilly  (i)  sounds, 
That  the  fixed  sentinels  almost  receive 
The  secret  whispers  of  each  other's  watch.  (2) 
Fire  answers  fire,  and  through  their  paly  flames 
Each  battle  sees  the  other's  umber'd  face : 
Steed  threatens  steed,  in  high  and  boastful  neighs, 
Piercing  the  night's  dull  ear ;  and  from  the  tents, 
The  armourers,  accomplishing  the  knights, 
With  busy  hammers  closing  rivets  up,  (3) 
Give  dreadful  note  of  preparation. 
The  country  cocks  do  crow,  the  clocks  do  toll, 
And  the  third  hour  of  drowsy  morning  name. 
Proud  of  their  numbers,  and  secure  in  soul, 
The  confident  and  over-lusty  French 
Do  the  low-rated  English  play  at  dice ; 
And  chide  the  cripple  tardy-gaited  night,(4) 

C.(i)  Gently,  lowly.  (2)  The  armies  were  only  250  paces  apart,  accord- 
ing to  Holinshed.  (3)  The  plate  armour  was  not  only  riveted  in  parts, 
before  it  was  put  on,  but  the  armourers  were  employed  in  closing  up 
parts  which  fitted  to  each  other  by  rivets,  when  the  knight  was  being 
equipped  for  the  battle  or  tournament. — Knight.  (4)  This  scene  and 
the  next  are  intended  by  Shakespeare  to  contrast  the  difference  in  the 
demeanor  of  the  French  and  the  English  on  the  eve  of  battle.  The  night 
was  passed  in  silence  and  earnest  devotion  in  the  English  camp,  every 
one  contemplated  the  morrow  with  an  awful  solemnity.  The  resolution 
to  exert  themselves  to  their  last  breath  for  their  own  preservation  and 
honour  was  universal ;  but  their  state  of  weakness  from  disease  and  suffer- 
ing, and  the  vast  superiority  of  the  enemy,  forbad  much  hope. — Sharon 
Turner.  The  Frenchmen  made  greate  fires  about  their  banners  *  *  * 
and  all  that  night  made  greate  chere,  and  were  very  mery.  The  English- 

(54) 


ACT  THREE:  The  FIRST   Scene 


Who,  like  a  foul  and  ugly  witch,  doth  limp 

So  tediously  away.     The  poor  condemned  English, 

Like  sacrifices,  by  their  watchful  fires 

Sit  patiently,  and  inly  ruminate 

The  morning's  danger ;  and  their  gesture  sad 

Investing  lank-lean  cheeks,  and  war-worn  coats, 

Presenteth  them  unto  the  gazing  moon 

So  many  horrid  ghosts.     O,  now,  who  will  behold 

The  royal  captain  of  this  ruin'd  band, 

Walking  from  watch  to  watch,  from  tent  to  tent, 

Let  him  cry — "  Praise  and  glory  on  his  head  !  " 

For  forth  he  goes,  and  visits  all  his  host, 

Bids  them  good  morrow,  with  a  modest  smile, 

And  calls  them  brothers,  friends  and  countrymen. 

Upon  his  royal  face  there  is  no  note 

How  dread  an  army  hath  enrounded  him. 

<fbe  FIRST  Scene 


DAUPHIN'S  Tent  near  Agincourf) 


DAUPHIN  reclines  on  couch,  Centre,  ^fhe  CONSTA- 
BLE and  ORLEANS  flay  at  dice  at  table,  Right.  BOUR- 
BON, RAMBURES(  i)  ^^GRANDPRE  flay  at  dice  on  drum- 
head Left.  Attendants  at  back.  A  sentinel  paces  before 
the  door  on  the  outside.  Pages  are  serving  wine.  T/6<? 
DAUPHIN  rises  and  goes  up  to  the  door  of  the  tent,  Centre. 

CONSTABLE 

Tut  !  I  have  the  best  armour  of  the  world.  Would 
it  were  day  ! 

men  that  night  sounded  their  trompettes  and  diverse  instruments  musicale 
with  greate  melody,  and  yet  they  were  bothe  hungery,  wery,  sore  traveled 
and  much  vexed  with  colde  deseases  :  Howbeit  they  made  peace  with  God, 
in  confessyng  their  synnes,  requiring  hym  of  help,  and  receivyng  the  holy 
sacramente,  every  man  encouragyng  and  determying  clerely  rather  to  die 
than  either  to  yelde  or  flie.  —  Hallos  Chronicle. 

C.(i)  The  Lord  of  Rambures  was  commander  of  the  cross-bows  of  the 
French  army  at  Agincourt. 

(55) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

ORLEANS. 

You  have  an  excellent  armour ;  but  let  my  horse 
have  his  due. 

CONSTABLE 
It  is  the  best  horse  of  Europe. 

ORLEANS 
vWill  it  never  be  morning? 

DAUPHIN  (returning  Centre  at  Front) 
My  Lord  of  Orleans,  and  my  lord  high  constable, 
you  talk  of  horse  and  armour  ? 

ORLEANS  (rises) 

You  are  as  well  provided  of  both  as  any  prince 
in  the  world.  (Sits  again.} 

DAUPHIN 

What  a  long  night  is  this! — I  will  not  change 
my  horse  with  any  that  treads  but  on  four  pasterns. 
Ca,  ha !  he  bounds  from  the  earth,  as  if  his  entrails 
were  hairs  ;(i )  le  cheval  volant,  the  Pegasus,  chez  les 
narines  de  feu  !  When  I  bestride  him,  I  soar,  I  am 
a  hawk :  he  trots  the  air ;  the  earth  sings  when  he 
touches  it ;  the  basest  horn  of  his  hoof  is  more  musi- 
cal than  the  pipe  of  Hermes.  Will  it  never  be 
day  ?  I  will  trot  to-morrow  a  mile,  and  my  way 
shall  be  paved  with  English  faces. (2) 

CONSTABLE  (rises) 

I  will  not  say  so,  for  fear  I  should  be  faced  out  of 
my  way.  But  I  would  it  were  morning,  for  I  would 
fain  be  about  the  ears  of  the  English. 

ORLEANS 

Who  will  go  to  hazard  with  me  for  twenty  pris- 
oners ? 

C.(J)  That  is,  as  if  he  were  a  tennis  ball  stuffed  with  hair. — Rolfe.  (2) 
They  were  estemed  to  be  in  numbre  sixe  times  as  many,  or  more  than 
was  the  whole  compaigny  of  the  Englishmen  with  wagoners,  pages,  and 
all. — Hall 's  Chronicle. 

(56) 


ACT  THREE  :   The  FIRST   Scene 


CONSTABLE 

You  must  first  go  yourself  to  hazard,  ere  you  have 
them. 

DAUPHIN 
'Tis  past  midnight,  I'll  go  arm  myself. 

(Exit  DAUPHIN,  Right.     Others  laugh.) 

ORLEANS 

The  Dauphin  longs  for  morning. 
He  longs  to  eat  the  English. 

CONSTABLE 
I  think  he  will  eat  all  he  kills. 

ORLEANS 
By  the  white  hand  of  my  lady,  he's  a  gallant  prince. 

CONSTABLE 
Swear  by  her  foot,  that  she  may  tread  out  the  oath. 

ORLEANS 
He  is,  simply,  the  most  active  gentleman  of  France. 

CONSTABLE 
Doing  is  activity;  and  he  will  still  be  doing. (i) 

ORLEANS 
He  never  did  harm,  that  I  heard  of. 

CONSTABLE 

Nor  will  do  none  to-morrow:  he  will  keep  that 
good  name  still. 

ORLEANS 
I  know  him  to  be  valiant. 

CONSTABLE 

I  was  told  that,  by  one  that    knows  him  better 
than  you. 

White  says  "doing"  has  here  an  amorous  sense. 

(57) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

ORLEANS 
What's  he4? 

CONSTABLE 

Marry,  he  told  me  so  himself;  and  he  said,  he 
cared  not  who  knew  it. 

QEnter  a  MESSENGER  at  Centre. 

MESSENGER 

My  lord  high  constable,  the  English  lie  within 
fifteen  hundred  paces  of  your  tents.(i) 

CONSTABLE 
Who  hath  measured  the  ground  ? 

MESSENGER 
The  Lord  Grandpre. 

CONSTABLE 
A  valiant  and  most  expert  gentleman. 

(Exit  MESSENGER.) 

Would  it  were  day !  Alas,  poor  Harry  of  Eng- 
land !  he  longs  not  for  the  dawn,  as  we  do. 

ORLEANS 

What  a  wretched  and  peevish  fellow  is  this  king 
of  England,  to  mope  with  his  fat-brained  (2)  followers 
so  far  out  of  his  knowledge  ! 

CONSTABLE 

If  the  English  had  any  apprehension,  they  would 
run  away. 

ORLEANS 

That  they  lack ;  for  if  their  heads  had  any  intel- 
lectual armour,  they  could  never  wear  such  heavy 
head-pieces. 

C.(i)  Holinshed  says  that  the  distance  between  the  two  armies  was  but 
250  paces.     (2)  Stupid. 

(58) 


ACT  THREE  :   The  FIRST   Scene 


RAMBURES 

That  island  of  England  breeds  very  valiant  creat- 
ures ;  their  mastiffs  are  of  unmatchable  courage. 

ORLEANS 

Foolish  curs,  that  run  winking  into  the  mouth  of 
a  Russian  bear  and  have  their  heads  crushed  like 
rotten  apples  !  You  may  as  well  say,  that's  a  vali- 
ant flea  that  dare  eat  his  breakfast  on  the  lip  of  a 
lion. 

CONSTABLE 

Just,  just;  and  the  men  do  sympathize  with  the 
mastiffs  in  robustious  and  rough  coming  on,  leaving 
their  wits  with  their  wives :  and  then  give  them 
great  meals  of  beef  and  iron  and  steel,  they  will  eat 
like  wolves  and  fight  like  devils. 

ORLEANS 
Ay,  but  these  English  are  shrewdly  out  of  beef. 

CONSTABLE 

Then  shall  we  find  to-morrow  they  have  only 
stomachs  to  eat,  and  none  to  fight.  Now  is  it  time 
to  arm  :  come,  shall  we  about  it '? 

(Bell  of  strikes  two.} 

ORLEANS 

It  is  now  two  o'clock :  but,  let  me  see,  by  ten 
We  shall  have  each  a  hundred  Englishmen. 

(Exeunt.     Others  off  sing  a  night  song.} 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 


SECOND  Scene 


English  Lines  near  Agincourt  just  before  dawn.) 

nting  is  heard  in  the  distance,     ^he  monks  confess 
nd  bless  the  soldiers.     Retiring,  they  leave  the  young 
DUKE  ^BEDFORD  standing  over  the  embers  of  a  smoul- 
dering/ire.    He  is  joined  by  his  brothers,  KING  HENRY 
and  the  DUKE  <?/*GLOSTER. 

KING  HENRY  (Centre) 

Gloster,  'tis  true  that  we  are  in  great  danger ; 
The  greater  therefore  should  our  courage  be. 
Good  morrow,  brother  Bedford. — God  Almighty  ! 
There  is  some  soul  of  goodness  in  things  evil, 
Would  men  observingly  distil  it  out ; 
For  our  bad  neighbour  makes  us  early  stirrers, 
Which  is  both  healthful  and  good  husbandry  (i)  : 
That  we  should  dress  us(2)  fairly  for  our  end. 
Thus  may  we  gather  honey  from  the  weed, 
And  make  a  moral  of  the  devil  himself. 

QEnter  ERPINGHAM  (3)  from  Left 

Good  morrow,  old  Sir  Thomas  Erpingham : 
A  good  soft  pillow  for  that  good  white  head 
Were  better  than  a  churlish  turf  of  France. 

ERPINGHAM    (Left  Centre) 

Not  so,  my  liege  :  this  lodging  likes  me  better, 
Since  I  may  say,  now  lie  I  like  a  king. 

KING  HENRY 

'Tis  good  for  men  to  love  their  present  pains. 
Lend  me  thy  cloak,  Sir  Thomas. — Brothers  both, 
Commend  me  to  the  princes  in  our  camp ; 

C.(0  Thrift.  (2)  To  address,  that  is,  set  in  order,  prepare.  (3)  Sir 
Thomas  Erpingham  came  over  with  Bolingbroke  from  Brittany,  and  was 
one  of  the  commissioners  to  receive  King  Richard's  abdication. 

(6°) 


ACT  THREE:  Th e  SECOND  Scene 

Do  my  good  morrow  to  them ;  and,  anon, 
Desire  them  all  to  my  pavilion. 

(He  throws  ERPINGHAM'S  cloak  about  him.) 

GLOSTER 
We  shall,  my  liege. 

(Exeunt  GLOSTER  and  BEDFORD.) 

ERPINGHAM 
Shall  I  attend  your  grace  ? 

KING  HENRY 

No,  my  good  knight ; 

Go  with  my  brothers  to  my  lords  of  England : 
I  and  my  bosom  must  debate  awhile, 
And  then  I  would  no  other  company. 

ERPINGHAM 
The  Lord  in  Heaven  bless  thee,  noble  Harry ! 

(Exit  ERPINGHAM,  Right) 

KING  HENRY 

God-a-mercy,  old  heart !  thou  speakest  cheerfully. 

(He  goes  up) 

QEnter  PISTOL  from  Left. 

PISTOL 

Qui  va  Id  ? 

KING  HENRY  (hooded  and  cloaked) 

A  friend. 

PISTOL 

Discuss  unto  me  ;  art  thou  an  officer4? 

Or,  art  thou  base,  common  and  popular  (i)  ? 

KING  HENRY 
I  am  a  gentleman  of  a  company. 

C,(i)  Of  the  people,  not  noble  or  of  royalty. 
(61) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

PISTOL 
Trail'st  thou  the  puissant  pike  ? 

KING  HENRY 
Even  so  :  what  are  you  ? 

PISTOL 
As  good  a  gentleman  as  the  emperor. 

KING  HENRY 
Then  you  are  a  better(i)  than  the  king. 

PISTOL 

The  king's  a  bawcock(2)  and  a  heart  of  gold, 
A  lad  of  life,  an  imp  (3)  of  fame; 
Of  parents  good,  of  fist  most  valiant ; 
I  kiss  his  dirty  shoe,  and  from  my  heartstrings 
I  love  the  lovely  bully.     What's  thy  name  ? 

KING  HENRY 
Harry  Le  Roy. 

PISTOL 
Le  Roy  !  a  Cornish  name  ;  art  thou  of  Cornish  crew? 

KING  HENRY 
No,  I  am  a  Welshman. 

PISTOL 
Knowest  thou  Fluellen  ? 

KING  HENRY 
Yes. 

PISTOL   . 

Tell  him,  I'll  knock  his  leek  about  his  pate, 
Upon  St.  Davy's  day.  (Crosses  to  Right.) 

d.(0  A  better  man.  (2)  A  term  of  endearment,  says  Schmidt,  synony- 
mous to  chuck,  but  always  masculine.  White  says  "  jolly  good  fellow  : 
beau  cocq."  (3)  Youngling,  youngster,  son. 


ACT  THREE:  Th e  SECOND  Scene 

KING  HENRY 

Do  not  you  wear  your  dagger  in  your  cap  that 
day,  lest  he  knock  that  about  yours. 

PISTOL 
Art  thou  his  friend  ? 

KING  HENRY 
And  his  kinsman  too. 

PISTOL 

The/^(l)  for  thee,  then  ! 

KING  HENRY 
I  thank  you  :  God  be  with  you. 

PISTOL 
My  name  is  Pistol  called. 

KING  HENRY 
It  sorts (2)  well  with  your  fierceness. 

(Exit  PISTOL,  Right.) 

(KiNG  HENRY  retires  into  the  shadow  as  FLUELLEN 
and  GOWER  enter  from  Right  and  Left,  meeting.) 

GOWER 
Captain  Fluellen ! 

FLUELLEN 

So !  in  the  name  of  Cheshu  Christ,  speak  lower. (3) 
It  is  the  greatest  admiration  in  the  universal  world, 
when  the  true  and  aunchient  prerogatifes  and  laws 
of  the  wars  is  not  kept.  If  you  would  take  the 
pains  but  to  examine  the  wars  of  Pompey  the 
Great,  you  shall  find,  I  warrant  you,  that  there  is  no 
tiddle  taddle  nor  pibble  pabble  in  Pompey's  camp ; 

C,(i)  Fig.  (2)  Agrees.  (3)  Shakespeare  has  here,  as  usual,  followed 
Holinshed  :  "  Order  was  taken  by  commandment  from  the  king,  after 
the  army  was  first  set  in  battle  array,  that  no  noise  or  clamor  should  be 
made  in  the  host." 

(63) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

I  warrant  you,  you  shall  find  the  ceremonies  of  the 
wars,  and  the  cares  of  it,  and  the  forms  of  it,  and 
the  sobriety  of  it,  and  the  modesty  of  it,  to  pe  other- 
wise. 

GOWER 
Why,  the  enemy  is  loud  ;  you  hear  him  all  night. 

FLU  ELLEN 

If  the  enemy  is  an  ass  and  a  fool  and  a  prating 
coxcomb,  is  it  meet,  think  you,  that  we  should  also, 
look  you,  pe  an  ass  and  a  fool  and  a  prating  cox- 
comb? in  your  own  conscience  (i),  now? 

GOWER 
I  will  speak  lower. 

FLUELLEN 
I  pray  you,  and  beseech  you,  that  you  will. 

(Exeunt  GOWER  and  FLUELLEN,  Right?) 

KING  HENRY 

Though  it  appear  a  little  out  of  fashion, 
There  is  much  care  and  valour  in  this  Welshman. 


,  from  Left,  BATES  and  WILLIAMS,   stopping 
before  the  fire,  Left  Centre. 

WILLIAMS  {Left  Centre) 

Brother  John  Bates,  is  not  that  the  morning 
which  breaks  yonder  *? 

BATES  (Left) 

I  think  it  be  :  but  we  have  no  great  cause  to  de- 
sire the  approach  of  day. 

WILLIAMS 

We  see  yonder  the  beginning  of  the  day,  but  I 
think  we  shall  never  see  the  end  of  it.  —  Who  goes 
there  ?  _ 

Opinion. 

(64) 


ACT  THREE:  The  SECOND  Scene 

KING  HENRY    (up  Centre) 
A  friend. 

WILLIAMS 
Under  what  captain  serve  you  ? 

KING  HENRY 
Under  Sir  Thomas  Erpingham. 

WILLIAMS 

A  good  old  commander  and  a  most  kind  gentle- 
man :  I  pray  you,  what  thinks  he  of  our  estate  ? 

KING  HENRY 

Even  as  men  wrecked  upon  a  sand,  that  look  to 
be  washed  off  the  next  tide. 

BATES 
He  hath  not  told  his  thought  to  the  king? 

KING  HENRY 

No ;  nor  it  is  not  meet  he  should.  For,  though 
I  speak  it  to  you,  I  think  the  king  is  but  a  man,  as 
I  am :  the  violet  smells  to  him  as  it  doth  to  me ; 
the  element  shows  to  him  as  it  doth  to  me;  all  his 
senses  have  but  human  conditions :  his  ceremonies 
laid  by,  in  his  nakedness  he  appears  but  a  man  ;  and 
though  his  affections  are  higher  mounted  than  ours, 
yet,  when  they  stoop,  they  stoop  with  the  like  wing.(  i ) 
Therefore  when  he  sees  reason  of  fears,  as  we  do, 
his  fears,  out  of  doubt,  be  of  the  same  relish  as  ours 
are :  yet,  in  reason,  no  man  should  possess  him  with 
any  appearance  of  fear,  lest  he,  by  showing  it,  should 
dishearten  his  army. 

BATES 

He  may  show  what  outward  courage  he  will ;  but 
I  believe,  as  cold  a  night  as  'tis,  he  could  wish  him- 

d.(J)  The  terms  mounted,  stoop,  and  wing  are  borrowed  from  falconry. 

(65) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

self  in  the  Thames  up  to  the  neck ;  and  so  I  would 
he  were,  and  I  by  him,  at  all  adventures,  so  we 
were  quit  here. 

KING  HENRY 

By  my  troth,  I  will  speak  my  conscience  of  the 
king :  I  think  he  would  not  wish  himself  anywhere 
but  where  he  is. 

BATES 

Then  I  would  he  were  here  alone ;  so  should  he 
be  sure  to  be  ransomed,  and  many  poor  men's  lives 
saved. 

KING  HENRY 

I  dare  say  you  love  him  not  so  ill  to  wish  him 
here  alone,  howsoever  you  speak  this  to  feel  other 
men's  minds.  Methinks,  I  could  not  die  anywhere 
so  contented  as  in  the  king's  company ;  his  cause 
being  just  and  his  quarrel  honourable. 

WILLIAMS 
That's  more  than  we  know. 

BATES 

Ay,  or  more  than  we  should  seek  after;  for  we 
know  enough  if  we  know  we  are  the  king's  sub- 
jects ;  if  his  cause  be  wrong,  our  obedience  to  the 
king  wipes  the  crime  of  it  out  of  us. 

WILLIAMS 

But  if  the  cause  be  not  good,  the  king  himself 
hath  a  heavy  reckoning  to  make.  I  am  afeard  there 
are  few  die  well  that  die  in  battle ;  for  how  can  they 
charitably  dispose  of  anything  when  blood  is  their 
argument  ?  Now,  if  these  men  do  not  die  well,  it 
will  be  a  black  matter  for  the  king  that  led  them  to 
it ;  whom  to  disobey  were  against  all  proportion  of 
subjection  (l). 

C,(i)  That  is,  reasonable  service. 
(66) 


A  c T  T  H  R  E  E  :  Th e  SECOND  Scene 

KING  HENRY 

So,  if  a  son  that  is  by  his  father  sent  about  mer- 
chandise, do  sinfully  miscarry  upon  the  sea,  the  im- 
putation of  his  wickedness,  by  your  rule,  should  be 
imposed  upon  his  father  that  sent  him ;  or  if  a  ser- 
vant, under  his  master's  command,  transporting  a  sum 
of  money,  be  assailed  by  robbers,  and  die  in  many 
irreconciled  iniquities,  you  may  call  the  business  of 
the  master  the  author  of  the  servant's  damnation. 
But  this  is  not  so :  the  king  is  not  bound  to  answer 
the  particular  endings  of  his  soldiers,  the  father  of 
his  son,  nor  the  master  of  his  servant;  for  they  pur- 
pose not  their  death  when  they  purpose  their  ser- 
vices. Besides,  there  is  no  king,  be  his  cause  never 
so  spotless,  if  it  come  to  the  arbitrement  of  swords, 
can  try  it  out  with  all  unspotted  soldiers.  Every 
subject's  duty  is  the  king's ;  but  every  subject's  soul 
is  his  own.  Therefore  should  every  soldier  in  the 
wars  do  as  every  sick  man  in  his  bed,  wash  every 
mote  out  of  his  conscience ;  and  dying  so,  death  is 
to  him  advantage ;  or  not  dying,  the  time  was  bless- 
edly lost,  wherein  such  preparation  was  gained. 

WILLIAMS 

Tis  certain,  every  man  that  dies  ill  the  ill  is  upon 
his  own  head ;  the  king  is  not  to  answer  it. 

BATES 

I  do  not  desire  he  should  answer  for  me  ;  and  yet 
I  determine  to  fight  lustily  for  him. 

KING  HENRY 

I  myself  heard  the  king  say  he  would  not  be  ran- 
somed. (Comes  forward,  Right?) 

WILLIAMS 
Ay,  he  said  so,  to  make  us  fight  cheerfully;  but, 

(67) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

when  our  throats  are  cut,  he  may  be  ransomed,  and 
we  ne'er  the  wiser. 

KING  HENRY 
If  I  live  to  see  it,  I  will  never  trust  his  word  after. 

WILLIAMS 

You  pay  him  then  !  (Rises,  going  Centred)  That's 
a  perilous  shot  out  of  an  elder  gun(i),  that  a  poor  and 
private  displeasure  can  do  against  a  monarch !  you 
may  as  well  go  about  to  turn  the  sun  to  ice,  with 
fanning  in  his  face  with  a  peacock's  feather.  You'll 
never  trust  his  word  after !  come,  'tis  a  foolish  saying. 

KING  HENRY 

Your  reproof  is  something  too  rourid(2) :  I  should 
be  angry  with  you  if  the  time  were  convenient. 

WILLIAMS 
Let  it  be  a  quarrel  between  us,  if  you  live. 

(Approaches,  threatening^) 

KING  HENRY 
I  embrace  it. 

WILLIAMS 
How  shall  I  know  thee  again? 

KING  HENRY 

Give  me  any  gage  of  thine,  and  I  will  wear  it  in 
my  bonnet :  then,  if  ever  thou  darest  acknowledge 
it,  I  will  make  it  my  quarrel. 

WILLIAMS 
Here's  my  glove  :  give  me  another  of  thine. 

KING  HENRY 

There.  (T*hey  exchange  gloves.) 

C.(i)  A  gun  made  of  elder  wood,  a  pop  gun.     (2)  Rough,  unceremonious. 

(68) 


ACT  THREE  :  The  SECOND  Scene 

WILLIAMS 

This  will  I  also  wear  in  my  cap  :  if  ever  thou 
come  to  me  and  say,  after  to-morrow,  "This  is  my 
glove,"  by  this  hand,  I  will  take  thee  a  box  on  the 
ear. 

KING  HENRY 

If  ever  I  live  to  see  it,  I  will  challenge  it. 

WILLIAMS 
Thou  darest  as  well  be  hanged. 

KING  HENRY 

Well,  I  will  do  it,  though  I  take  thee  in  the  king's 
company.  (Crosses  to  Left.} 

WILLIAMS  (Right) 
Keep  thy  word  :  fare  thee  well. 

BATES  (coming  between,  Right  Centre) 
Be  friends,  you  English  fools,  be  friends :  we  have 
French  quarrels  enow(l),  if  you  could  tell  how  to 
reckon. 

KING  HENRY 

Indeed,  the  French  may  lay  twenty  French 
crowns  (2)  to  one,  they  will  beat  us ;  for  they  bear 
them  on  their  shoulders :  but  it  is  no  English  treason 
to  cut  French  crowns,  and  to-morrow  the  king  him- 
self will  be  a  clipper. 

(Exeunt  WILLIAMS  and  BATES,  Right} 

(The  KING  alone,  Left  Centre) 

KING  HENRY 

Upon  the  king !  let  us  our  lives,  our  souls, 
Our  debts,  our  careful  (3)  wives, 

C.O)  Old  plural  of  enough.  (2)  A  common  expression  for  a  bald  head, 
but  the  pun  here,  Tyrwhitt  points  out,  may  turn  simply  on  the  double 
meaning  of  crown.  To  cut  French  crowns  is  an  allusion  to  the  crime  of 
clipping  coin.  (3)  Full  of  care. 

(69) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

Our  children,  and  our  sins,  lay  on  the  king. 
We  must  bear  all. 

0  hard  condition  !  twin-born  with  greatness, 
Subject  to  the  breath  of  every  fool,  whose  sense 
No  more  can  feel  but  his  own  wringing  (i)  ! 
What  infinite  hearts-ease  must  kings  neglect 
That  private  men  enjoy  ? 

And  what  have  kings  that  privates  have  not  too, 

Save  ceremony,  save  general  ceremony  ? 

And  what  art  thou,  thou  idle  ceremony  ? 

What  kind  of  god  art  thou,  that  suffer'st  more 

Of  mortal  griefs  than  do  thy  worshippers  ? 

Art  thou  aught  else  but  place,  degree  and  form, 

Creating  awe  and  fear  in  other  men  ? 

Wherein  thou  art  less  happy,  being  feared, 

Than  they  in  fearing. 

What  drink'st  thou  oft,  instead  of  homage  sweet, 

But  poison'd  flattery  ?     O,  be  sick,  great  greatness, 

And  bid  thy  ceremony  give  thee  cure. 

Think'st  thou,  the  fiery  fever  will  go  out 

With  titles  blown  from  adulation  *? 

Will  it  give  place  to  flexure  and  low  bending? 

Canst  thou,   when   thou  command'st  the   beggar's 

knee, 

Command  the  health  of  it  ?    No,  thou  proud  dream, 
That  play'st  so  subtly  with  a  king's  repose ; 

1  am  a  king  that  find  thee,  and  I  know 

'Tis  not  the  balm  (2),  the  sceptre,  and  the  ball, 
The  sword,  the  mace,  the  crown  imperial, 
The  inter-tissued  robe  of  gold  and  pearl, 
The  farced  title  running  'fore  the  king, 
The  throne  he  sits  on,  nor  the  tide  of  pomp 
That  beats  upon  the  high  shore  of  this  world ; 
No,  not  all  these,  thrice-gorgeous  ceremony, 

C.(i)  Suffering.     (2)  The  anointing  oil  used  at  coronation. 
(70) 


ACT  THREE:  jf/?^  SECOND  Scene 

Not  all  these,  laid  in  bed  majestical, 

Can  sleep  so  soundly  as  the  wretched  slave, 

Who  with  a  body  lill'd  and  vacant  mind 

Gets  him  to  rest,  cramm'd  with  distressful  bread ; 

Never  sees  horrid  night,  the  child  of  hell, 

But,  like  a  lackey,  from  the  rise  to  set 

Sweats  in  the  eye  of  Phoebus,  and  all  night 

Sleeps  in  Elysium ;  next  day,  after  dawn, 

Doth  rise  and  help  Hyperion  to  his  horse;  (i) 

And  follows  so  the  ever-running  year, 

With  profitable  labour,  to  his  grave  : 

And,  but  for  ceremony,  such  a  wretch, 

Winding  up  days  with  toil  and  nights  with  sleep, 

Had  the  fore-hand  and  vantage  (2)  of  a  king. 

QEnter,  from  Right,  ERPINGHAM. 

ERPINGHAM 

My  lord,  your  nobles,  jealous  of  your  absence, 
Seek  through  your  camp  to  find  you. 

KING  HENRY 

Good  old  knight, 

Collect  them  all  together  at  my  tent : 
I'll  be  before  thee. 

ERPINGHAM 

I  shall  do  't,  my  lord. 

(Exit  Right.) 
KING  HENRY 

O  God  of  battles  !  steel  my  soldiers'  hearts ; 
Possess  them  not  with  fear ;  take  from  them  now 
The  sense  of  reckoning,  if  the  opposed  numbers 
Pluck  their  hearts  from  them.    Not  to-day,  O  Lord, 
O,  not  to-day,  think  not  upon  the  fault 
My  father  made  in  compassing  (3)  the  crown  ! 

C.(i)  Is  up  before  the  sun.      (2)  Advantage.     (3)  Obtaining. 
(70 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

I  Richard's  body  have  interred  new, 
And  on  it  have  bestow'd  more  contrite  tears 
Than  from  it  issued  forced  drops  of  blood. 
Five  hundred  poor  I  have  in  yearly  pay, 
Who  twice  a  day  their  wither'd  hands  hold  up 
Toward  heaven,  to  pardon  blood ;  and  I  have  built 
Two  chantries,  (i)  where  the  sad  and  solemn  priests 
Sing  still  for  Richard's  soul.  (2)     More  will  I  do ; 
Though  all  that  I  can  do  is  nothing  worth, 
Since  that  my  penitence  comes  after  all, 
Imploring  pardon. 

GLOSTER  (of  Left) 
My  liege ! 

KING  HENRY 
My  brother  Gloster's  voice  *? 

QEnter  GLOSTER,  Left. 

Ay; 

I  know  thy  errand,  I  will  go  with  thee  : 

(Ex//  G LOST E R 

The  day,  my  friends,  and  all  things  stay  for  me. 

(tableau.) 

^L(i)  One  of  these  monasteries  was  for  Carthusian  monks,  and  was  called 
Bethlehem  ;  the  other  was  for  religious  men  and  women  of  the  order  of 
St.  Bridget,  and  was  named  Sion.  They  were  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
Thames,  and  adjoined  the  royal  manor  of  Sheen,  now  called  Richmond. 
— Malone.  (2)  He  sent  unto  ye  fryers  of  Langley,  where  the  corps  of 
kynge  Richarde  was  buryed,  and  caused  it  to  be  taken  out  of  ye  erth,  and 
so  with  reverence  and  solempntie  to  be  conveyed  unto  Westmynster, 
and  upon  the  south  syde  of  seynt  Edwardes  shryne,  there  honourably  to 
be  buryed  by  quene  Anne  his  wife,  which  there  before  tyme  was  entered. 
And  after  a  solempn  terment  there  holdon,  he  provyded  that  iiii  tapers 
shulde  breune  daye  and  nyght  about  his  grave,  whyle  the  world  endureth : 
and  one  day  in  the  weke  a  solempne  dirige,  and  upon  the  morrowe  a  masse 
of  Requiem  by  note  ;  after  which  masse  endyed,  to  be  gyven  wekely  unto 
pore  people  XI.  S.  VIII.  in  pens  ;  and  upon  ye  day  of  his  anniversary, 
after  ye  sayd  masse  of  Requiem  is  songe,  to  be  yerely  distrybuted  for  his 
soule,  XX.  li.  d. — Fabyan. 


(72) 


ACT  THREE:  Th  e  THIRD  Scene 

The  THIRD  Scene 
-English  Position  at  Agincourt,  Morning) 

GLOSTER,  BEDFORD,  EXETER,  YORK,  SALIS- 
BURY, ERPINGHAM,  WESTMORELAND,  a  herald,  a  stand- 
ard bearer,  trumpeters  and  soldiers. 

GLOSTER   (Left) 
Where  is  the  king? 

BEDFORD  (Left) 
The  king  himself  is  rode  to  view  their  battle. 

WESTMORELAND   (Centre) 
Of  fighting  men  they  have  full  threescore  thousand. 

EXETER   (Left  Centre) 
There's  five  to  one ;  besides  they  are  all  fresh. 

ERPINGHAM  (Right) 
'Tis  a  fearful  odds. 

If  we  no  more  meet  till  we  meet  in  heaven, 
Then,  joyfully,  my  noble  Lord  of  Bedford, 
My  dear  Lord  Gloster,  and  my  good  Lord  Exeter, 
And  my  kind  kinsmen,  warriors  all,  adieu ! 

BEDFORD 

Farewell,  good  Erpingham ;  and  good  luck  go  with 
thee  !  (Exit  ERPINGHAM,  Right.) 

WESTMORELAND 
O  that  we  now  had  here 

But  one  ten  thousand  of  those  men  in  England 
That  do  no  work  to-day  !  ( i ) 

C.(i)  A  certain  lord,  Walter  Hungerford,  knight,  was  regretting  in  the 
King's  presence  that  he  had  not,  in  addition  to  the  small  retinue  which 
he  had  there,  ten  thousand  of  the  best  English  Archers,  who  would  be 
desirous  of  being  with  him  ;  when  the  King  said,  Thou  speakest  foolish- 
ly, for,  by  the  God  of  Heaven,  on  whose  grace  I  have  relied,  and  in  whom 

(73) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

{[Enter  KING  HENRY  through  ranks  of  soldiers,  from 
Right  Centre. 

KING  HENRY   (Centre] 

What's  he  that  wishes  so  ? 

My  cousin  Westmoreland  ?     No,  my  fair  cousin  : 
If  we  are  mark'd  to  die,  we  are  enow 
To  do  our  country  loss ;  and  if  to  live, 
The  fewer  men,  the  greater  share  of  honour. 
God's  will !  I  pray  thee,  wish  not  one  man  more. 
By  Jove,  (i)  I  am  not  covetous  for  gold, 
Nor  care  I  who  doth  feed  upon  my  cost ; 
It  yearns  (2)  me  not  if  men  my  garments  wear; 
Such  outward  things  dwell  not  in  my  desires : 
But  if  it  be  a  sin  to  covet  honour, 
I  am  the  most  offending  soul  alive. 
No,  faith,  my  coz,  wish  not  a  man  from  England : 
God's  peace !  I  would  not  lose  so  great  an  honour 
As  one  man  more,  methinks,  would  share  from  me 
For  the  best  hope  I  have.    O,  do  not  wish  one  more  ! 
Rather  proclaim  it,  Westmoreland,  through  my  host, 
That  he  which  hath  no  stomach  to  this  fight, 
Let  him  depart;  his  passport  shall  be  made, 
And  crowns  for  convoy  (3)  put  into  his  purse : 
We  would  not  die  in  that  man's  company 
That  fears  his  fellowship  to  die  with  us. 
This  day  is  call'd  the  feast  of  Crispian  :  (4) 

I  have  a  firm  hope  of  victory,  I  would  not,  even  if  I  could,  increase  my 
number  by  one  ;  for  those  whom  I  have  are  the  people  of  God,  whom  he 
thinks  me  worthy  to  have  at  this  time. — Nicholas's  History  of  Agincourt. 
C,(i)  "  The  King  prays  like  a  Christian  and  swears  like  a  heathen,"  says 
Johnson.  (2)  Grieves.  (3)  Travelling  expenses.  (4)  The  25th  of  Octo- 
ber, Saint  Crispin's  day.  Crispin  and  Crispian  were  brothers,  born  in 
Rome ;  whence  they  travelled  to  Soissons,  France,  about  A.  D.  303,  to 
propagate  the  Christian  religion.  They  supported  themselves  by  working 
at  their  trade  of  shoemaking ;  but  the  governor  of  the  town,  learning  that 
they  were  Christians,  caused  them  to  be  beheaded.  They  subsequently 
became  the  tutelar  saints  of  the  shoemakers. 

(74) 


ACT  TnREEiThe  THIRD  Scene 

He  that  outlives  this  day,  and  comes  safe  home, 

Will  stand  a  tip-toe  when  this  day  is  nam'd, 

And  rouse  him  at  the  name  of  Crispian. 

He  that  outlives  this  day,  and  sees  old  age, 

Will  yearly  on  the  vigil  feast  his  neighbours, 

And  say,  "  To-morrow  is  Saint  Crispian  :  " 

Then  will  he  strip  his  sleeve,  and  show  his  scars: 

And  say,  "  These  wounds  I  had  on  Crispin's  day." 

Then  shall  our  names, 

Familiar  in  their  mouths  as  household  words,  — 

Harry  the  king,  Bedford,  and  Exeter, 

Warwick  and  Talbot,  Salisbury  and  Gloster,  — 

Be  in  their  flowing  cups  freshly  remember'd. 

This  story  shall  the  good  man  teach  his  son  ; 

And  Crispin  Crispian  shall  ne'er  go  by, 

From  this  day  to  the  ending  of  the  world, 

But  we  in  it  shall  be  remember'd  : 

We  few,  we  happy  few,  we  band  of  brothers  : 

For  he  to-day  that  sheds  his  blood  with  me 

Shall  be  my  brother  ;  be  he  ne'er  so  vile, 

This  day  shall  gentle  his  condition  ;  (i) 

And  gentlemen  in  England,  now  a-bed, 

Shall  think  themselves  accurs'd  they  were  not  here  ; 

And  hold  their  manhoods  cheap,  whiles  any  speaks 

That  fought  with  us  upon  St.  Crispin's  day. 


GOWER  from  Right,  kneels  Right  Centre  before 
the  KING. 

GOWER 

My  sovereign  lord,  bestow  (2)  yourself  with  speed  ; 
The  French  are  bravely  (3)  in  their  battles  set, 
And  will  with  all  expedience  (4)  charge  on  us. 

C,(i)  Advance  him  to  the  rank  of  gentleman.     (2)  Repair  to  your  post. 
(3)  With  great  display.     (4)  Expedition,  haste. 

(75) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

KING  HENRY 
All  things  are  ready,  if  our  minds  be  so. 

(GOWER  rises.) 

WESTMORELAND  (Left  Centre) 
Perish  the  man  whose  mind  is  backward  now ! 

KING  HENRY 
Thou  dost  not  wish  more  help  from  England,  coz? 

WESTMORELAND 

Heaven's  will,  my  liege,  would  you  and  I  alone, 
Without  more  help,  could  fight  this  royal  battle ! 

KING  HENRY 

Why,  now,  thou  hast  unwish'd  five  thousand  men, 
Which  likes  me  better  than  to  wish  us  one. — 
You  know  your  places :  God  be  with  you  all ! 

QEnter  MONT  JOY  and  trumpeters  from  Right. 

MONTJOY 

Once  more  I  come  to  know  of  thee,  King  Harry, 
If  for  thy  ransom  thou  wilt  now  compound, 
Before  thy  most  assured  overthrow : 
For,  certainly,  thou  art  so  near  the  gulf 
Thou   needs   must  be   englutted  (i).      Besides,  in 

mercy, 

The  constable  desires  thee  thou  wilt  mind 
Thy  followers  of  repentance ;  that  their  souls 
May  make  a  peaceful  and  a  sweet  retire 
From  off  these  fields,  where,  wretches,  their  poor 

bodies 
Must  lie  and  fester. 

KING  HENRY 

Who  has  sent  thee  now"? 

CL(r)  Swallowed  up. 
(76) 


ACT  THREE:  The  THIRD   Scene 


MONTJOY 

The  Constable  of  France. 

KING  HENRY 

I  pray  thee,  bear  my  former  answer  back ; 
Bid  them  achieve  me,  and  then  sell  my  bones. 
Good  God!  why  should  they  mock  poor  fellows 

thus*? 

The  man  that  once  did  sell  the  lion's  skin 
While  the  beast  liv'd,  was  kill'd  with  hunting  him. 
Let  me  speak  proudly.     Tell  the  constable, 
We  are  but  warriors  for  the  working-day:  (i) 
Our  gayness,  and  our  gilt  (2),  are  all  besmirch'd 
With  rainy  marching  in  the  painful  field; 
There's  not  a  piece  of  feather  in  our  host 
(Good  argument,  I  hope,  we  will  not  fly), 
And  time  hath  worn  us  into  slovenry : 
But,  by  the  mass,  our  hearts  are  in  the  trim : 
And  my  poor  soldiers  tell  me,  yet  ere  night 
They'll  be  in  fresher  robes ;  or  they  will  pluck 
The  gay  new  coats  o'er  the  French  soldiers'  heads, 
And  turn  them  out  of  service.     If  they  do  this 
(As,  if  Heaven  please,  they  shall),  my  ransom  then 
Will  soon  be  levied.     Herald,  save  thou  thy  labour, 
Come  thou  no  more  for  ransom,  gentle  herald ; 
They  shall  have  none,  I  swear,  but  these  my  joints ; 
Which,  if  they  have  as  I  will  leave  'em  them, 
Shall  yield  them  little,  tell  the  constable. 

MONTJOY 

I  shall,  King  Harry.     And  so  fare  thee  well : 
Thou  never  shalt  hear  herald  any  more. 

(Exeunt  Right) 
KING  HENRY 
I  fear,  thou  wilt  once  more  come  again  for  ransom. 

C.(i)  Soldiers  ready  for  work,  not  dressed  up  for  holiday.     (2)  Refers  to 
the  gilding  on  their  armour  and  weapons. 

(77) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

YORK  (kneels  Left  Centre) 
My  lord,  most  humbly  on  my  knee  I  beg 
The  leading  of  the  vaward  (i). 

KING  HENRY 

Take  it,  brave  York.  —  Now,  soldiers,  march  away  : 
And  how  thou  pleasest,  God,  dispose  the  day  ! 

The   FOURTH  Scene 

(Part  of  the  field  of  Battle,     ^fhe  din  of  battle  nearby  is 

heard) 


nter,  from  Right,  FRENCH   SOLDIER,  PISTOL  and 
BOY.     PISTOL  drags  the  FRENCH  SOLDIER  by  a  halter. 

PISTOL  (Left  Centre) 
Yield,  cur. 

FRENCH  SOLDIER  (Right  Centre,  on  his  knees) 
O,  prennez  misericorde  !    ayez  pitie  de  moi  ! 

PISTOL 

Moy  shall  not  serve,  I  will  have  forty  moys; 
For  I  will  fetch  thy  rim  (2)  out  at  thy  throat, 
In  drops  of  crimson  blood. 

FRENCH  SOLDIER 
Est-il  impossible  d'echapper  la  force  de  ton  bras? 

PISTOL 
Brass,  cur  ! 

Thou  damned  and  luxurious  (3)  mountain  goat, 
Offer'st  me  brass  *? 

FRENCH  SOLDIER 
O  pardonnez  moi  ! 

C.(i)  Vanguard.     (2)  The  caul  in  which  the  bowels  are  wrapped.     (3) 
Lustful. 

(78) 


ACT  THREE:  The  FOURTH   Scene 

PISTOL 

Say'st  them  me  so  ?  is  that  a  ton  of  moys  ? 
Come  hither,  boy.     Ask  me  this  slave  in  French, 
What  is  his  name. 

BOY  (Centre) 
Ecoutez ;  comment  etes-vous  appelle  ? 

FRENCH  SOLDIER 
Monsieur  le  Fer. 

BOY 
He  says  his  name  is  Master  Fer. 

PISTOL 

Master  Fer!  I'll  fer  him,  and  firk(i)  him,  and 
ferret(2)  him : — discuss  the  same  in  French  unto 
him. 

BOY 

I  do  not  know  the  French  for  fer,  and  ferret,  and 
firk. 

PISTOL 

Bid  him  prepare,  for  I  will  cut  his  throat. 

FRENCH  SOLDIER 
Cue  dit-il,  monsieur  ? 

BOY 

II  me  commande  de  vous  dire  que  vous  faites  vous 
pret ;  car  ce  soldat  ici  est  dispose  tout  a  cette  heure 
de  couper  votre  gorge. 

PISTOL 

Ouy,  couper  gorge,  par  ma  foy,  pesant. 
Unless  thou  give  me  crowns,  brave  crowns; 
Or  mangled  shalt  thou  be  by  this  my  sword. 

C.(i)  Beat,  drub.     (2)  To  worry,  as  a  ferret  does. 
(79) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

FRENCH  SOLDIER 

O  je  vous  supplie,  me  pardonner  !  Je  suis  gentil- 
homme  de  bonne  maison;  gardez  ma  vie,  et  je 
vous  donnerai  deux  cent  ecus. 

PISTOL 
What  are  his  words  ? 

BOY 

He  prays  you  to  save  his  life ;  he  is  a  gentleman 
of  a  good  house  ;  and  for  his  ransom  he  will  give 
you  two  hundred  crowns. 

PISTOL 

Tell  him, — my  fury  shall  abate,  and  I 
The  crowns  will  take.  (Sheathes  sword.) 

FRENCH  SOLDIER 
Petit  monsieur,  que  dit-il  ? 

BOY 

Encore  qu'il  est  contre  son  jurement  de  pardonner 
aucun  prisonnier,  neanmoins,  pour  les  ecus  que  vous 
1'avez  promis,  il  est  content  de  vous  donner  la 
liberte,  le  franchisement. 

FRENCH  SOLDIER 

Sur  mes  genoux  je  vous  donne  mille  remerci- 
ments;  et  je  m'estime  heureux  que  je  suis  tombe 
entre  les  mains  d'un  chevalier,  je  pense,  le  plus 
brave,  vaillant,  et  tres  distingue  seigneur  d'Angle- 
terre. 

PISTOL 
Expound  unto  me,  boy. 

BOY 

He  gives  you,  upon  his  knees,  a  thousand  thanks  : 
and  he  esteems  himself  happy  that  he  hath  fallen 


ACT   THREE  :The   FIFTH   Scene 


into  the  hands  of  one  (as  he  thinks)  the  most  brave, 
valorous,  and  thrice-worthy  signieur  of  England. 

(Goes  Right.) 
PISTOL 

As  I  suck  blood,  I  will  some  mercy  show.— 
Follow  me.  (Exit  PISTOL,  Left.) 

BOY 
Suivez-vous  le  grand  capitaine. 

(Exit  FRENCH  SOLDIER,  Left.) 
I  did  never  know  so  full  a  voice  issue  from  so 
empty  a  heart  :  but  the  saying  is  true,  —  the  empty 
vessel  makes  the  greatest  sound.  Bardolph  and 
Nym  had  ten  times  more  valour  than  this  roaring 
devil  i'  the  old  play,(i)  that  every  one  may  pare  his 
nails  with  a  wooden  dagger  ;  and  they  are  both 
hanged  ;  and  so  would  this  be,  if  he  durst  steal  any- 
thing adventurously.  I  must  stay  with  the  lackeys, 
with  the  luggage  of  our  camp  :  the  French  might 
have  a  good  prey  of  us,  if  he  knew  of  it  ;  for  there 
is  none  to  guard  it  but  boys.  (Exit  Left.) 


FIFTH  Scene 


(Tableau — *fbe  Battle  of  Agmcourt)(2) 

C.(i)  In  the  old  "  moralities  "  or  comedies,  the  Vice  or  buffoon  had  a 
sword  or  dagger  of  lath  with  which  he  used  to  beat  the  devil,  and  some- 
times attempted  to  pare  his  long  nails.  (2)  The  king  is  reported  to  have 
dismounted  before  the  battle  commenced,  and  to  have  fought  on  foot. 
King  Henry  was  habited  in  his  "cote  d'armes,"  containing  the  arms  of 
France  and  England  quarterly,  and  wore  on  his  bacinet  a  very  rich  crown 
of  gold  and  jewels,  circled  like  an  imperial  crown,  that  is,  arched  over. 
The  earliest  instance  of  an  arched  crown  worn  by  an  English  monarch. — 
Planchd.  Holinshed  states  that  the  English  army  consisted  of  15,000, 
and  the  French  of  60,000  horse  and  40,000  infantry — in  all,  100,000. 
Walsingham  and  Harding  represent  the  English  as  but  9,000,  and  other 
authors  say  that  the  number  of  French  amounted  to  150,000.  Fabian 
says  the  French  were  40,000,  and  the  English  only  7,000.  The  battle 
lasted  only  three  hours.  The  noble  Duke  of  Gloucester,  the  king's 
brother,  pushing  himself  too  vigorously  on  his  horse  into  the  conflict, 
was  grievously  wounded,  and  cast  down  to  the  earth  by  the  blows  of  the 

(81) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

the  SIXTH  Scene 
(A  Part  of  the  Field  of  Battle) 


,  from  Right,  DAUPHIN,  CONSTABLE,  ORLEANS, 
BOURBON,  and  others  in  confusion. 

CONSTABLE  (Right  Centre) 
O  diable ! 

ORLEANS   (Right  Centre) 
O  seigneur  ! — le  jour  est  perdu,  tout  est  perdu  ! 

DAUPHIN 

Mort  de  ma  vie  !  all  is  confounded,  all ! 
Reproach  and  everlasting  shame 
Sits  mocking  in  our  plumes.  —  O  mechante  for- 
tune !— 
Do  not  run  away.  (A  short  alarum  without.) 

CONSTABLE  (Left  Centre) 

Why,  all  our  ranks  are  broke. 

French,  for  whose  protection  the  King  being  interested,  he  bravely  leapt 
against  his  enemies  in  defence  of  his  brother,  defended  him  with  his  own 
body,  and  plucked  and  guarded  him  from  the  raging  malice  of  the 
enemy's,  sustaining  perils  of  war  scarcely  possible  to  be  borne. — Nico- 
las's  History  of  Agincoitrt.  Thus  this  battaile  continued  iii  long  houres, 
some  strake,  some  defeded,  some  foyned,  some  traversed,  some  kylled, 
some  toke  prisoners,  no  man  was  idle,  every  man  fought  either  in  hope 
of  victory  or  to  save  him  selfe.  The  Kyng  that  day  shewed  him  selfe 
like  a  valiaunt  knight,  whiche  notwithstandyng  that  he  was  almost  felled 
with  the  Duke  of  Alaunson,  yet  with  plain  strength  he  slew  ii  of  the 
Duke's  company,  and  felled  the  Duke ;  but  when  the  Duke  would  have 
yieulded  to  him,  the  Kynge's  garde,  contrary  to  the  Kynge's  minde,  out- 
ragiously  slewe  him. — Hall's  Chronicle.  During  the  battle  the  Duke  of 
Alen9on  most  valiantly  broke  through  the  English  lines,  and  advanced 
fighting  near  the  King — inasmuch  that  he  wounded  and  struck  down  the 
Duke  of  York.  King  Henry  seeing  this  stepped  forth  to  his  aid,  and  as 
he  was  leaning  down  to  aid  him  the  Duke  of  Alen9on  gave  him  a  blow  on 
his  helmet  that  struck  off  part  of  his  crown.  The  King's  guards  on 
this  surrounded  him,  when  seeing  he  could  no  way  escape  death  but  by 
surrendering,  he  lifted  up  his  arms  and  said  to  the  king,  "  I  am  the  Duke 
of  Alencon,  and  yield  myself  to  you."  But  as  the  King  was  holding  out 
his  hands  to  receive  his  pledge  he  was  put  to  death  by  the  guards. — 
Monstrelet. 

(82) 


ACT  THREE  :  The  SEVENTH  Scene 

DAUPHIN 

O  perdurable(i)  shame  !  —  let's  stab  ourselves. 
Be  these  the  wretches  that  we  play'd  at  dice  for  ? 

ORLEANS 
Is  this  the  king  we  sent  to  for  his  ransom  ? 

DAUPHIN 

Shame,  and  eternal  shame,  nothing  but  shame  ! 
Let's  die  in  honour  :  Once  more  back  again. 

CONSTABLE 

Disorder,  that  hath  spoil'd  us,  friend  us  now  ! 
Let  us,  on  heaps,  go  offer  up  our  lives. 

ORLEANS 

We  are  enow,  yet  living  in  the  field, 
To  smother  up  the  English  in  our  throngs, 
If  any  order  might  be  thought  upon. 

CONSTABLE 

The  devil  take  order  now  !  I'll  to  the  throng; 
Let  life  be  short;  else  shame  will  be  too  long. 

(Exeunt  Right,  rushing  again  to 


SEVENTH  Scene 

(The  Plains  of  Agincourt,  after  the  Victory) 

QEnter,  from  Right,  KING  HENRY,  BEDFORD,  GLOS- 
TER,  WARWICK,  and  others,  -with  a  fart  of  the  English 
forces. 

KING  HENRY   (Centre) 

Well  have  we  done,  thrice  valiant  countrymen  : 
But  all's  not  done,  yet  keep  the  French  the  field. 

_  <L(i)  Lasting.  _ 

(83) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

QEnter  EXETER  from  Left. 

EXETER 
The  Duke  of  York  commends  him  to  your  majesty. 

KING  HENRY 

Lives  he,  good  uncle  ?  thrice  within  this  hour 
I  saw  him  down  ;  thrice  up  again,  and  fighting  ; 
From  helmet  to  the  spur,  all  blood  he  was. 

EXETER 

In  which  array  (brave  soldier  !)  doth  he  lie, 
Larding(i)  the  plain  :  and  by  his  bloody  side 
(Yoke-fellow  to  his  honour-owing(2)  wounds) 
The  noble  Earl  of  Suffolk  also  lies. 
Suffolk  first  died:  and  York  all  haggled  (3)  over, 
Comes  to  him,  where  in  gore  he  lay  insteep'd, 
And  takes  him  by  the  beard,  kisses  the  gashes 
That  bloodily  did  yawn  upon  his  face, 
And  cries  aloud,  —  "  Tarry,  dear  Cousin  Suffolk  ! 
My  soul  shall  thine  keep  company  to  heaven  : 
Tarry,  sweet  soul,  for  mine,  then  fly  a-breast  ; 
As,  in  this  glorious  and  well-foughten  field, 
We  kept  together  in  our  chivalry  !  " 
Upon  these  words  I  came,  and  cheer'd  him  up  : 
He  smil'd  me  in  the  face,  raught(4)  me  his  hand, 
And  with  a  feeble  gripe,  says,  "  Dear,  my  lord, 
Commend  my  service  to  my  sovereign." 
So  did  he  turn,  and  over  Suffolk's  neck 
He  threw  his  wounded  arm,  and  kiss'd  his  lips  ; 
And  so,  espous'd  to  death,  with  blood  he  seal'd 
A  testament  of  noble-ended  love. 
The  pretty  and  sweet  manner  of  it  forc'd 
Those  waters  from  me,  which  I  would  have  stopp'd 
But  I  had  not  so  much  of  man  in  me, 


Enriching.       (2)   Honorable.      (3)  Cut,    mangled.     (4)  Reached, 
from  Old  English. 

(84) 


ACTTHREE:  The  SEVENTH  Scene 

And  all  my  mother  came  into  mine  eyes 
And  gave  me  up  to  tears. 

KING  HENRY  (turns  /#  EXETER  and  grasps  his  hand] 

I  blame  you  not ; 

For,  hearing  this,  I  must  perforce  compound 
With  mistful  eyes,  or  they  will  issue  too.— 
But,  hark  !  what  new  alarum  is  this  same  ? — 
The  French  have  reinforced  their  scattered  men : 
Give  the  word  through. 

(Exeunt  Right,  all  but  FLU  ELLEN  and  GOWER, 

who  come  forward.) 
FLUELLEN 

Kill  the  poys  and  the  luggage !  5t  is  expressly 
against  the  law  of  arms :  't  is  as  arrant  a  piece  of 
knavery,  mark  you  now,  as  can  pe  offert;  in  your 
conscience,  now,  is  it  not*? 

GOWER 
O,  't  is  a  gallant  king ! 

FLUELLEN 

Ay,  he  was  porn  at  Monmouth,  Captain  Gower. 
What  call  you  the  town's  name  where  Alexander 
the  Pig  was  porn  ? 

GOWER 
Alexander  the  Great. 

FLUELLEN 

Why,  I  pray  you,  is  not  pig,  great  *?  The  pig  or 
the  great,  or  the  mighty,  or  the  huge,  or  the  mag- 
nanimous, are  all  one  reckonings  save  the  phrase  is 
a  little  variations. 

GOWER 

I  think  Alexander  the  Great  was  born  in  Mace- 
don;  his  father  was  called  Philip  of  Macedon,  as  I 
take  it.  (Exeunt,  talking.) 

(85) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 


cr,  from  Right,  KING  HENRY  and  forces,  WAR- 
WICK, GLOSTER,  EXETER,  and  others,  attended. 

KING  HENRY 

I  was  not  angry  since  I  came  to  France 
Until  this  instant. — Take  a  trumpet,  herald ; 
Ride  thou  unto  the  horsemen  on  yon  hill  : 
If  they  will  fight  with  us,  bid  them  come  down, 
Or  void(i)  the  field ;  they  do  offend  our  sight. 
If  they'll  do  neither,  we  will  come  to  themr 
And  make  them  skirr(2)  away  as  swift  as  stones 
Enforced  from  the  old  Assyrian  slings. 
Besides,  we'll  cut  the  throats  of  those  we  have, 
And  not  a  man  of  them  that  we  shall  take 
Shall  taste  our  mercy.     Go  and  tell  them  so. 

(Exit  English  Herald,  Right,  2.) 

EXETER 
Here  comes  the  herald  of  the  French,  my  liege. 

{[Enter  MONTJOY,  Right,  i ;  he  kneels  before  the  KING. 

GLOSTER 
His  eyes  are  humbler  than  they  us'd  to  be. 

KING  HENRY 
How  now !  what  means  this,  herald  ?  know'st  thou 

not 

That  I  have  fin'd(3)  these  bones  of  mine  for  ran- 
som 2 
Com'st  thou  again  for  ransom  ? 

MONTJOY 

No,  great  king : 

I  come  to  thee  for  charitable  license, 
That  we  may  wander  o'er  this  bloody  field 
To  look(4)  our  dead,  and  then  to  bury  them. 

C.(i)  Avoid,  withdraw.     (2)  Move  rapidly.     (3)  Defined  as  the  sum  for 
ransom.      (4)  Look  for. 

(86) 


ACT  THREE:  The  SEVENTH  Scene 

KING  HENRY 

I  tell  thee,  truly,  herald, 
I  know  not  if  the  day  be  ours,  or  no ; 
For  yet  a  many  of  your  horsemen  peer, 
And  gallop  o'er  the  field. 

MONTJOY 
The  day  is  yours.     (Rises.} 

KING  HENRY 

Praised  be  Heaven,  and  not  our  strength,  for  it. — 
What  is  this  castle  call'd  that  stands  hard  by  *? 

MONTJOY 
They  call  it  Agincourt. 

KING  HENRY 

Then  call  we  this  the  field  of  Agincourt, 
Fought  on  the  day  of  Crispin  Crispianus. 

FLUELLEN 

Your  grandfather  of  famous  memory,  an't  please 
your  majesty,  and  your  great  uncle  Edward  the 
plack  prince  of  Wales,  as  I  have  read  in  the  chron- 
icles, fought  a  most  prave  pattle  here  in  France. 

KING  HENRY 
They  did,  Fluellen. 

FLUELLEN 

Your  majesty  says  very  true :  if  your  majesties  is 
remembered  of  it,  the  Welshmen  did  goot  service 
in  a  garden  where  leeks  did  grow,(i)  wearing  leeks 
in  their  Monmouth  caps  (2) ;  which  your  majesty 

C.(i)  King  Arthur  won  a  great  victory  over  the  Saxons  "  in  a  garden 
where  leeks  did  grow,"  and  Saint  David  ordered  that  every  one  of  the 
king's  soldiers  should  wear  a  leek  in  his  cap  in  honour  thereof.  Hence 
the  Welsh  custom  of  wearing  the  emblem  on  Saint  David's  day,  March 
1st.  (2)  A  kind  of  woollen  cap  made  at  Monmouth  and  much  worn  by 
soldiers. 

(87) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

knows,  to  this  hour  is  an  honourable  padge  of  the 
service ;  and,  I  do  pelieve,  your  majesty  takes  no 
scorn  to  wear  the  leek  upon  Saint  Tavy's  day. 

KING  HENRY 

I  wear  it  for  a  memorable  honour  : 
For  I  am  Welsh,  you  know,  good  countryman. 

FLUELLEN 

All  the  water  in  Wye  cannot  wash  your  majesty's 
Welsh  plood  out  of  your  pody,  I  can  tell  you  that: 
Got  pless  it  and  preserve  it,  as  long  as  it  pleases  his 
grace,  and  his  majesty,  too ! 

KING  HENRY 
Thanks,  good  my  countryman. 

FLUELLEN 

By  Saint  Tavy,  I  am  your  Majesty's  countryman, 
I  care  not  who  know  it ;  I  will  confess  it  to  all  the 
'orld:  I  need  not  be  ashamed  of  your  majesty, 
praised  be  Heaven,  so  long  as  your  majesty  is  an 
honest  man. 

KING  HENRY 

God  keep  me  so ! — Our  heralds  go  with  him ; 
Bring  me  just  notice  of  the  numbers  dead 
On  both  our  parts. — Call  yonder  fellow  hither. 

(Points  to  WILLIAMS.     Exeunt  MONTJOY  and 

others?) 
EXETER 
Soldier,  you  must  come  to  the  king. 

(WILLIAMS  advances^ 

KING  HENRY 
Soldier,  why  wearest  thou  that  glove  in  thy  cap  *? 

WILLIAMS 

An't  please  your  majesty,  'tis  the  gage  of  one 
that  I  should  fight  withal,  if  he  be  alive. 

(88) 


ACT  THREE  :  The  SEVENTH  Scene 

KING  HENRY 

An  Englishman? 

WILLIAMS 

An't  please  your  majesty,  a  rascal  that  swaggered 
with  me  last  night :  who,  if  'a  live  and  ever  dare  to 
challenge  this  glove,  I  have  sworn  to  take  him  a 
box  o'  the  ear :  or,  if  I  can  see  my  glove  in  his  cap 
(which  he  swore,  as  he  was  a  soldier,  he  would  wear 
if  alive),  I  will  strike  it  out  soundly. 

KING  HENRY 

What  think  you,  Captain  Fluellen  ?  is  it  fit  this 
soldier  keep  his  oath  ? 

FLUELLEN 

He  is  a  craven  and  a  villain  else,  an't  please  your 
majesty,  in  my  conscience. 

KING  HENRY 

It  may  be  his  enemy  is  a  gentleman  of  great  sort, 
quite  from  the  answer  of  his  degree.(i) 

FLUELLEN 

Though  he  be  as  goot  a  gentleman  as  the  tevil  is, 
as  Lucifer  and  Belzebub  himself,  it  is  necessary, 
look  your  grace,  that  he  keep  his  vow  and  his  oath. 

KING  HENRY 

Then  keep  thy  vow,  sirrah,  when  thou  meet'st  the 
fellow. 

WILLIAMS 

So  I  will,  my  liege,  as  I  live. 

KING  HENRY 
Who  servest  thou  under? 

C.(i)  A  person  of  such  station  as  is  not  bound  to  hazard  his  person  to 
answer  to  a  challenge  from  one  of  the  soldier's  low  degree. 

(89) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

WILLIAMS 
Under  Captain  Gower,  my  liege. 

FLUELLEN 

Gower  is  a  goot  captain ;  and  is  goot  knowledge 
and  literatured  in  the  wars. 

KING  HENRY 
Call  him  hither  to  me,  soldier. 

WILLIAMS 
I  will,  my  liege.  (Exit  WILLIAMS,  Right) 

KING  HENRY 

Here,  Fluellen ;  wear  thou  this  favour  for  me, 
and  stick  it  in  thy  cap.  (Gives  glove  to  FLUELLEN 
who  receives  it  on  his  knee.)  When  Alen^on  and 
myself  were  down  together,(i)  I  plucked  this  glove 
from  his  helm ;  if  any  man  challenge  this,  he  is  a 
friend  to  Alen9on  and  an  enemy  to  our  person ;  if 
thou  encounter  any  such,  apprehend  him,  as  thou 
dost  me  love. 

FLUELLEN  (rises) 

Your  grace  does  me  as  great  honours  as  can  be 
desired  in  the  hearts  of  his  subjects :  I  would  fain 
see  the  man,  that  has  but  two  legs,  that  shall  find 
himself  aggriefed  at  this  glove,  that  is  all;  but  I 
would  fain  see  it  once :  an  please  Heaven  of  its 
grace  that  I  might  see  it. 

KING  HENRY 
Knowest  thou  Gower  ? 

FLUELLEN 
He  is  my  dear  friend,  an  please  you. 

C.(i)  This  alludes  to  an  historical  fact.  Henry  was  felled  to  the  ground 
by  the  Duke  of  Alen9on,  but  recovered  himself  and  slew  two  of  the 
Duke's  attendants. 

(9°) 


ACT  THREE  :  The  SEVENTH  Scene 

KING  HENRY 
Pray  thee,  go  seek  him,  and  bring  him  to  my  tent. 

FLUELLEN 
I  will  fetch  him.  (Exit  FLUELLEN,  Right.) 

HENRY 

My  lord  of  Warwick,  and  my  brother  Gloster, 
Follow  Fluellen  closely  at  the  heels. 
The  glove,  which  I  have  given  him  for  a  favour, 
May,  haply,  purchase  him  a  box  o'  the  ear ; — 
It  is  the  soldier's :  I,  by  bargain,  should 
Wear  it  myself.     Follow,  good  cousin  Warwick : 
If  that  the  soldier  strike  him  (as,  I  judge 
By  his  blunt  bearing,  he  will  keep  his  word), 
Some  sudden  mischief  may  arise  of  it. 
Follow,  and  see  there  be  no  harm  between  them. — 
(Exeunt  WARWICK  and  GLOSTER,  Right.} 
Go  you  with  me,  uncle  of  Exeter.         (Exeunt  Left.} 

QEnter,  from  Right,  GOWER  and  WILLIAMS. 

WILLIAMS 
I  warrant  it  is  to  knight  you,  captain. 

QEnter  FLUELLEN,  following  them  from  Right. 

FLUELLEN  (Centre) 

Got's  will  and  his  pleasure,  captain,  I  peseech 
you  now,  come  apace  to  the  king :  there  is  more 
goot  toward  you  peradventure  than  is  in  your  knowl- 
edge to  dream  of 

(WILLIAMS  notices  the  glove  in  FLUELLEN'S  helmet. 
He  starts  with  surprise.  He  takes  the  glove  from  his 
own  helmet  and  holds  it  to  FLUELLEN.) 

WILLIAMS  (Right) 
Sir,  know  you  this  glove  *? 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

FLUELLEN 
Know  the  glove  !     I  know  the  glove  is  a  glove. 

WILLIAMS 
I  know  this,  and  thus  I  challenge  it.   (Strikes  him.) 

FLUELLEN 

'Sblood  !(i)  an  arrant  traitor  as  any  is  in  the  uni- 
versal world,  or  in  France,  or  in  England ! 

GOWER 
How  now,  sir !  you  villain ! 

(Draws  and  comes  between  them,  Centre) 

WILLIAMS 
Do  you  think  I'll  be  forsworn  ? 

FLUELLEN 

Stand  away,  Captain  Gower;  I  will  give  treason 
his  payment  into  plows,  I  warrant  you. 

WILLIAMS 
I  am  no  traitor. 

FLUELLEN 

That's  a  lie  in  thy  throat. — I  charge  you  in  his 
majesty's  name,  apprehend  him:  he's  a  friend  of  the 
Duke  Alen9on's. 

QEnter  WARWICK  and  GLOSTER  from  Right. 

WARWICK 
How  now,  how  now !  what's  the  matter  ? 

FLUELLEN 

My  Lord  of  Warwick,  here  is — praised  pe  Got 
for  it! — a  most  contagious  treason  come  to  light, 
look  you,  as  you  shall  desire  in  a  summer's  day. 
Here  is  his  majesty. 

C.U)  A  common  oath,  an  abbreviation  for  God's  blood. 
(92) 


ACT  THREE  :Tbe  SEVENTH  Scene 


,  from  Left,  KING  HENRY  and  EXETER,  other 
lords  and  attendants. 

KING  HENRY  (Centre) 
How  now!  what's  the  matter? 

FLU  ELLEN  (Left) 

My  liege,  here  is  a  villain  and  a  traitor,  that,  look 
your  grace,  has  struck  the  glove  which  your  ma- 
jesty is  take  out  of  the  helmet  of  Alencon. 

WILLIAMS  (Right) 

My  liege,  this  was  my  glove  ;  here  is  the  fellow  of 
it  :  and  he  that  I  gave  it  to  in  change  promised  to 
wear  it  in  his  cap  ;  I  promised  to  strike  him,  if  he 
did  :  I  met  this  man  with  my  glove  in  his  cap,  and 
I  have  been  as  good  as  my  word. 

FLUELLEN 

Your  majesty  hear  now  (saving  your  majesty's 
manhood),  what  an  arrant,  rascally,  beggarly,  lousy 
knave  it  is  :  I  hope  your  majesty  is  pear  me  in  testi- 
mony, and  witness,  and  will  avouchment,  that  this 
is  the  glove  of  Alencon,  that  your  majesty  is  give 
me,  in  your  conscience  now. 

KING  HENRY 
Give  me  thy  glove,  soldier!     Look,  here's  the  fel- 

low of  it. 

'Twas  I,  indeed,  thou  promised'st  to  strike; 
And  thou  hast  given  me  most  bitter  terms  (i). 

FLUELLEN 

And  please  your  majesty,  let  his  neck  answer  for 
it,  if  there  is  any  martial  law  in  the  'orld. 

C,(i)  Words. 
(93) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

KING  HENRY 
How  canst  thou  make  me  satisfaction  ? 

WILLIAMS  (kneeling) 

All  offences,  my  liege,  come  from  the  heart: 
never  came  any  from  mine  that  might  offend  your 
majesty. 

KING  HENRY 
It  was  ourself  thou  didst  abuse. 

WILLIAMS 

Your  majesty  came  not  like  yourself;  you  ap- 
peared to  me  but  as  a  common  man ;  witness  the 
night,  your  garments,  your  lowliness;  and  what 
your  highness  suffered  under  that  shape,  I  beseech 
you,  take  it  for  your  own  fault,  and  not  mine :  for 
had  you  been  as  I  took  you  for,  I  made  no  offence ; 
therefore,  I  beseech  your  highness,  pardon  me. 


KING  HENRY 

Here,  Uncle  Exeter,  fill  this  glove  with  crowns. 
And  give  it  to  this  fellow. — Keep  it,  fellow; 
And  wear  it  for  an  honour  in  thy  cap, 
Till  I  do  challenge  it. — Give  him  the  crowns  : — 
And,  captain,  you  must  needs  be  friends  with  him. 

FLUELLEN 

By  this  day  and  this  light,  the  fellow  has  mettle 
enough  in  his  pelly: — (Crosses,  Right,  to  WILLIAMS 
and  offers  coin.}  Hold,  there  is  twelve  pence  for  you. 

WILLIAMS 
I  will  none  of  your  money.         (Retires  up  Right.} 

FLUELLEN  (following) 
It  is  with  a  goot  will. 

(94) 


ACT  THREE  :  The  SEVENTH  Scene 


ENGLISH  HERALD  from  Right.     He  kneels  be- 
fore the  KING. 

KING  HENRY  (Left  Centre) 
Now,  herald  ;  are  the  dead  number'd  *? 

HERALD 
Here  is  the  number  of  slaughtered  French. 

(Delivers  a  paper.} 

KING  HENRY 
What  prisoners  of  good  sort  are  taken,  uncle  ? 

EXETER 

Charles,  Duke  of  Orleans,(i)  nephew  to  the  king; 
John,  Duke  of  Bourbon,  and  Lord  Bouciqualt  : 
Of  other  lords  and  barons,  knights  and  'squires, 
Full  fifteen  hundred,  besides  common  men.  (2) 

KING  HENRY 

This  note  doth  tell  me  of  ten  thousand  French 
That  in  the  field  lie  slain  :  of  princes,  in  this  num- 

ber, 

And  nobles  bearing  banners,  there  lie  dead 
One  hundred  twenty-six:  added  to  these, 
Of  knights,  esquires,  and  gallant  gentlemen, 
Eight  thousand  and  four  hundred  ;  of  the  which, 


Charles,  Duke  of  Orleans,  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  at  Agin- 
court.  Henry  .refused  all  ransom  for  him,  and  he  remained  in  captivity 
twenty-three  years.  (2)  Among  the  most  illustrious  persons  slain  were 
the  Dukes  of  Brabant,  Barre,  and  Alenfon,  five  counts,  and  a  still  greater 
proportion  of  distinguished  knights  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  the  Count 
of  Vendome,  who  was  taken  by  Sir  John  Cornwall,  the  Marshal  Bouci- 
qualt, and  numerous  other  individuals  of  distinction,  whose  names  are 
minutely  recorded  by  Monstrelet,  were  made  prisoners.  The  loss  of  the 
English  army  has  been  variously  estimated.  The  discrepancies  respect- 
ing the  number  slain  on  the  part  of  the  victors,  form  a  striking  contrast 
to  the  accuracy  of  the  account  of  the  loss  of  their  enemies.  The  English 
writers  vary  in  their  statements  from  seventeen  to  one  hundred,  whilst 
the  French  chroniclers  assert  that  from  three  hundred  to  sixteen  hundred 
individuals  fell  on  that  occasion.  St.  Remy  and  Monstrelet  assert  that 
sixteen  hundred  were  slain.  —  Nicolas1  s  History  of  Agincourt. 

(95) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

Five  hundred  were  but  yesterday,  dubb'd  knights  :(i) 
So  that,  in  these  ten  thousand  they  have  lost, 
There  are  but  sixteen  hundred  mercenaries; 
The  rest  are  princes,  barons,  lords,  knights,  'squires, 
And  gentlemen  of  blood  and  quality. 
Here  was  a  royal  fellowship  of  death  ! — 
Where  is  the  number  of  our  English  dead  ? 

(Herald  shows  him  another  paper,  then  rises  and 

retires  Right  Centred) 

Edward  the  Duke  of  York,  the  Earl  of  Suffolk, 
Sir  Richard  Ketly,  Davy  Gam,  esquire  (2)  : 
None  else  of  name  (3) ;  and  of  all  other  men 
But  five  and  twenty. — O  God,  thy  arm  was  here ; 
And  not  to  us,  but  to  thy  arm  alone, 
Ascribe  we  all ! — When,  without  stratagem, 
But  in  plain  shock  and  even  play  of  battle, 
Was  ever  known  so  great  and  little  loss 
On  one  part  and  on  the  other  ? — Take  it,  God, 
For  it  is  none  but  thine ! 

EXETER 

'Tis  wonderful ! 

KING  HENRY 
Do  we  all  holy  rites ; 

Let  there  be  sung  Non  Nobis  and  Tl?  Deum  ; 
The  dead  with  charity  enclos'd  in  clay; 
And  then  to  Calais ;  and  to  England  then ; 
Where  ne'er  from  France  arriv'd  more  happy  men. 
(All  kneel.     Song  of  thanksgiving.') 

The    END    of    the    THIRD    ACT 

C.(i)  In  ancient  times  the  distribution  of  this  honour  appears  to  have  been 
customary  on  the  eve  of  battle.  (2)  This  gentleman,  being  sent  by 
Henry,  before  the  battle,  to  find  out  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  made 
this  report :  "  May  it  please  you,  my  liege,  there  are  enough  to  be  killed, 
enough  to  be  taken  prisoners,  and  enough  to  run  away."  He  saved  the 
king's  life  in  the  field. — Malone.  (3)  Of  eminence. 

(96) 


ACT         FOUR 
of  KING   HENRY   V 

An  HISTORICAL  Episode  (i) 

QThe  Return  of  Henry  P.  to  London,  after  the  Battle  of 
Agincourt. 

kHE  scene  represents  London  Bridge  at 
the  Surrey  end.  Gaily  decorated  booths 
are  banked  against  the  fronts  of  the 
houses  •  banners,  flags,  and  garlands 
float  in  the  air  ;  a  holiday  throng  crowds 
the  ways,  the  booths  and  the  windows  • 
the  chimes  of  St.  Paul  are  heard  above 
the  babel  of  the  crowd.  Peddlers  of  bal- 
lads, gilded  ginger-bread  and  other  holiday  knick-knacks 
do  a  thriving  business.  A  Merry  Andrew  amuses  with 
athletic  antics,  Two  small  boys  get  into  a  fight  and 
anxious  mothers  separate  them. 

'The  blare  of  trumpets  attracts  attention  to  the  coming 
0/~  NICHOLAS  WOTTON,  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  attended 
by  the  Civic  Sword-bearer,  the  Sergeant  at  Mace,  and 
Aldermen.  The  Lord  Mayor  bears  the  key  of  the  city. 
They  pass  along  the  bridge  to  meet  the  KING  on  the  Surrey 
side  and  present  the  freedom  of  the  city.  Presently  sol- 
diers of  the  Civic  Guard  return  and  crowd  the  people 

C.(i)  Extracts  of  King  Henry's  reception  into  London  from  an  anony- 
mous Chronicler,  who  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  events  he  describes  : 

' '  And  when  the  wished-f or  Saturday  dawned,  the  citizens  went  forth 
to  meet  the  King.  *  *  *  viz.,  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  in  scarlet, 
and  the  rest  of  the  inferior  citizens  in  red  suits,  with  party-coloured 
hoods,  red  and  white.  *  *  *  When  they  had  come  to  the  Tower  at 
the  approach  to  the  bridge,  as  it  were  at  the  entrance  to  the  authorities 
to  the  city.  *  *  *  Banners  of  the  Royal  Arms  adorned  the  Tower, 
elevated  on  its  turrets ;  and  trumpets,  clarions,  and  horns,  sounded  in 
various  melody ;  and  in  front  there  was  this  elegant  and  suitable  inscrip- 
tion upon  the  wall,  '  Civitas  Regis  justicie  ' — ('  The  City  to  the  King's 
Righteousness.')  *  *  *  And  behind  the  tower  were  innumerable 
boys,  representing  angels,  arrayed  in  white,  and  with  countenances  shin- 

~(97) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

back  against  the  houses  to  make  way  for  the  procession 
and  the  festivities,  tfhe  Lord  Mayor  and  party  return 
from  their  errand  of  courtesy  and  occupy  a  booth  to  review 
the  troops. 

A  flourish  of  trumpets  announces  the  head  of  the 
column.  Company  after  company  of  bowmen,  archers, 
pikemen,  miners  and  sappers,  and  other  soldiers  enter  and 
pass  through  the  crawds.  ^fheir  ranks  are  broken  and 
their  files  depleted  by  the  fatalities  of  their  victory.  At 
the  head  of  each  group  marches  a  knight,  with  a  page 
bearing  his  shield  and  a  standard-bearer  with  his  colours, 
^he  crowd  cheers  its  favourites,  soldiers  recognize  familiar 
faces  in  the  crowds.  A  mother  kisses  her  returning  son 
as  he  marches  past.  A  young  wife  rushes  to  the  embrace 
of  her  wounded  husband  and  marches  away  with  him. 
Another  girl  scans  the  faces  of  the  passing  troopers,  but 
seems  not  to  find  the  one  she  seeks.  She  rushes  out  to  an 
officer.  He  shakes  his  head  and  whispers  to  her.  She 
faints  and  is  borne  back  into  the  crowd,  her  little  tragedy 
unnoticed  in  the  festivity. 

ing  with  gold,  and  glittering  wings,  and  virgin  locks  set  with  precious 
sprigs  of  laurel,  who,  at  the  King's  approach  sang,  with  melodious 
voices,  and  with  organs,  an  English  anthem. 

******** 

"A  company  of  prophets,  of  venerable  hoariness,  dressed  in  golden 
coats  and  mantels,  with  their  heads  covered  and  wrapped  in  gold  and 
crimson,  sang  with  sweet  harmony,  bowing  to  the  ground,  a  psalm  of 
thanksgiving. 

******** 

"And  they  sent  forth  upon  him  round  leaves  of  silver  mixed  with 
wafers,  equally  thin  and  round.  And  there  proceeded  out  to  meet  the 
King  a  chorus  of  most  beautiful  virgin  girls,  elegantly  attired  in  white, 
singing  with  timbrel  and  dance,  as  it  were  an  angelic  multitude,  decked 
with  celestial  gracefulness,  white  apparel,  shining  feathers,  virgin  locks, 
studded  with  gems  and  other  resplendent  and  most  elegant  array,  who 
sent  forth  upon  the  head  of  the  King  passing  beneath  minae  of  gold,  with 
bows  of  laurel ;  round  about  angels  shone  with  celestial  gracefulness, 
chaunting  sweetly,  and  with  all  sorts  of  music. 

"  And  besides  the  pressure  in  the  standing  places,  and  of  men  crowd- 
ing through  the  streets,  and  the  multitude  of  both  sexes  along  the  way 
from  the  bridge,  from  one  end  to  the  other,  that  scarcely  the  horsemen 
could  ride  through  them.  A  greater  assembly,  or  a  nobler  spectacle,  was 
not  recollected  to  have  been  ever  before  in  London." 


ACT   FOUR   :   HISTORICAL    EPISODE 

Following  the  troops  come  other  knights  and  attendants, 
'•(hey  line  the  'way  on  both  sides.  Another  Jiourish  of 
trumpets  and  forth  from  the  bridge  come  a  troop  of 
maidens  in  flowing  white,  who  wave  palm  branches  as 
they  trip  through  their  figures.  Singing  in  their  train 
come  a  choir  of  scarlet-vested  cathedral  boys,  six  English 
prophets  and  six  English  kings.  They  precede  the  ARCH- 
BISHOP of  CANTERBURY  and  the  BISHOP  of  ELY  and 
the  nobles  of  the  royal  court.  A  huzzah  spreads  through 
the  multitude,  the  chimes  ring  out  again,  the  trumpets 
blare,  drums  roll,  banners  wave  in  a  riot  of  colour,  and 
victorious  KING  HARRY,  on  his  gaily-caparisoned  white 
charger,  rides  into  the  midst  of  his  welcome. 

RUMOUR  appears  as  Chorus. 

Now  we  bear  the  king 

Toward  Calais :  grant  him  there ;  there  seen, 
Heave  him  away  upon  your  winged  thoughts 
Athwart  the  sea.     Behold,  the  English  beach 
Pales  in  (i)  the  flood  with  men,  with  wives,  and  boys, 
Whose  shouts  and  claps  out-voice  the  deep-mouth'd 

sea, 

Which  like  a  mighty  whiffler  (2)  fore  the  king 
Seems  to  prepare  his  way  :  so  let  him  land, 
And  solemnly  see  him  set  on  to  London. 
So  swift  a  pace  hath  thought  that  even  now 
You  may  imagine  him  upon  Blackheath; 
Where  that  his  lords  desire  him  to  have  borne 
His  bruised  helmet  and  his  bended  sword 
Before  him  through  the  city :  he  forbids  it, 
Being  free  from  vainness  and  self-glorious  pride ; 
Giving  full  trophy,  signal  and  ostent 
Quite  from  himself  to  God.     But  now  behold, 

C,(i)  Encompasses.     (2)  A  whiffler  is  an  officer  who  walks  first  in  pro- 
cessions, or  before  persons  of  high  stations,  on  occasions  of  ceremony. 

(99) 


K  i 


N   G 


H 


E   N   R    Y 


the    F 


I   F  T  H 


In  the  quick  forge  and  working-house  of  thought, 
How  London  doth  pour  out  her  citizens ! 
The  mayor  and  all  his  brethren  in  best  sort  (i), 
Like  to  the  senators  of  the  antique  Rome, 
With  the  plebeians  swarming  at  their  heels, 
Go  forth  and  fetch  their  conquering  Csesar  in. 


The    END    of  the    FOURTH    ACT 


«L(0  Style. 


(100) 


ACT          F    I    V 

of  KING   HENRY    V 

<fke   FIRST  Scene 


(Interior  of  the  French  King's  Palace  at 


PRINCESS  KATHERINE  at  her  embroidery,  attended 
by  the  LADY  ALICE. 

KATHERINE  (Left  Centre) 

Alice,  tu  as  ete  en  Angleterre,  et  tu  paries  bien 
le  langage. 

ALICE  (Centre) 
Un  peu,  madame. 

KATHERINE 

Je  te  prie,  m'enseignez  ;  il  faut  que  j'apprenne  a 
parler.  Comment  appelez-vous  la  main  en  Anglais? 

ALICE 
La  main  ?  elle  est  appelee  de  hand. 

KATHERINE 
De  hand.     Et  les  doigts  *? 

ALICE 

Les  doigts  ?  ma  foi,  j'oublie  les  doigts  !  mais  je 
me  souviendrai.  Les  doigts  *?  je  pense  qu'ils  sont 
appeles  de  fingres  :  oui,  de  fingres. 

KATHERINE 

I  La  main,  de  hand  ;  les  doigts,  de  fingres.  Je 
pense  que  je  suis  le  bon  ecolier  ;  j'ai  gagne  deux 
mots  d'Anglais  vitement.  Comment  appelez-vous 
les  ongles  *? 

ALICE 
Les  ongles  ?  nous  les  appelons  de  nails. 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

KATHERINE 

De  nails.     Ecoutez  ;  dites-moi,  si  je  parle  bien : 
de  hand,  de  fingres,  et  de  nails. 

ALICE 
C'est  bien  dit,  madame  ;  il  est  fort  bon  Anglais. 

KATHERINE 
Dites-moi  PAnglais  pour  le  bras. 

ALICE 
De  arm,  madame. 

KATHERINE 
Et  le  coude  ? 

ALICE 
De  elbow. 

KATHERINE 

De  elbow.     Je  m'en  fais  la  repetition  de  tous  les 
mots  que  vous  m'avez  appris  des  a  present. 

ALICE 
II  est  trop  difficile,  madame,  comme  je  pense. 

KATHERINE 

Excusez-moi,  Alice ;   ecoutez :   de  hand,  de  fin- 
gres, de  nails,  de  arm,  de  bilbow. 

ALICE 
De  elbow,  madame. 

KATHERINE 

O   Seigneur  Dieu,  je    m'en    oublie !    de   elbow. 
Comment  appelez-vous  le  col  ? 

ALICE 
De  neck,  madame. 

(102) 


ACT    FIVE    :    The   FIRST    Scene 


KATHERINE 
De  nick.     Et  le  menton? 

ALICE 
De  chin. 

KATHERINE 
De  sin.     Le  col,  de  nick ;  le  menton,  de  sin. 

ALICE 

Oui.  Sauf  votre  honneur,  en  verite,  vous  pro- 
noncez  les  mots  aussi  droit  que  les  natifs  d' Angle- 
terre. 

KATHERINE 

Je  ne  doute  point  d'apprendre,  par  la  grace  de 
Dieu,  et  en  peu  de  temps. 

ALICE 

N'avez  vous  pas  deja  oublie  ce  que  je  vous  ai  en- 
seigne  ? 

KATHERINE 

Non,  je  reciterai  a  vous  promptement :  de  hand, 
de  fingres,  de  mails, — 

ALICE 
De  nails,  madame. 

KATHERINE 
De  nails,  de  arm,  de  ilbow. 

ALICE 

Sauf  votre  honneur,  de  elbow.  (tfhey  retire  up.) 

(103) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 


,  on  left  side,  the  FRENCH  KING  and  QUEEN,  with 
their  Court,  and  on  the  Right  the  KING  of  ENGLAND, 
with  knights  and  attendants. 

KING  HENRY  (Right  Centre) 

Peace  to  this  meeting,  wherefore  we  are  met!(i) 
Unto  our  brother  France,  and  to  our  sister, 
Health  and  fair  time  of  day  ;  —  joy  and  good  wishes 
To  our  most  fair  and  princely  cousin  Katherine  ; 
And  (as  a  branch  and  member  of  this  royalty, 
By  whom  this  great  assembly  is  contriv'd) 
We  do  salute  you,  Duke  of  Burgundy(2)  ;  — 
And,  princes  French,  and  peers,  health  to  you  all  ! 

FRENCH  KING  (Left  Centre) 

Right  joyous  are  we  to  behold  your  face, 
Most  worthy  brother  England  ;  fairly  met  :  — 
So  are  you,  princes  English,  every  one. 

QUEEN  ISABEL  (Left) 
You  English  princes  all,  I  do  salute  you. 

BURGUNDY   (Centre) 

My  duty  to  you  both,  on  equal  love, 

Great  Kings  of  France  and  England  !    That  I  have 

labour'd 

With  all  my  wits,  my  pains,  and  strong  endeavours, 
To  bring  your  most  imperial  majesties 

C.(i)  Shortly  after  his  arrival  he  waited  on  the  King  and  Queen  of 
France,  and  the  Lady  Catharine  their  daughter,  when  great  honour  and 
attentions  were  by  them  mutually  paid  to  each  other.  —  Monstrelet.  (2) 
John,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  surnamed  the  Fearless,  succeeded  to  the 
Dukedom  in  1403.  He  caused  the  Duke  of  Orleans  to  be  assassinated 
in  the  streets  of  Paris,  and  was  himself  murdered  August  28th,  1419,  on 
the  bridge  of  Montereau,  at  an  interview  with  the  Dauphin,  afterwards 
Charles  VII.  John  was  succeeded  by  his  only  son,  who  bore  the  title  of 
Philip  the  Good,  Duke  of  Burgundy. 

(104) 


ACT    FIVE    :    The   FIRST    Scene 

Unto  this  bar(i)  and  royal  interview, 

Your  mightiness  on  both  parts  best  can  witness. 

Since  then  my  office  hath  so  far  prevail'd 

That  face  to  face,  and  royal  eye  to  eye, 

You  have  congreeted(l);  let  it  not  disgrace  me, 

If  I  demand,  before  this  royal  view, 

What  rub(3),  or  what  impediment,  there  is, 

Why  that  naked,  poor,  and  mangled  peace, 

Dear  nurse  of  arts,  plenties  and  joyful  births, 

Should  not,  in  this  best  garden  of  the  world, 

Our  fertile  France,  put  up  her  lovely  visage  ? 

KING  HENRY 

If,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  you  would  the  peace, 
Whose  want  gives  growth  to  the  imperfections 
Which  you  have  cited,  you  must  buy  that  peace 
With  full  accord  to  all  our  just  demands  : 
Whose  tenors  and  particular  effects 
You  have,  enschedul'd(4)  briefly,  in  your  hands. 

BURGUNDY 

The  king  hath  heard  them  ;  to  the  which,  as  yet, 
There  is  no  answer  made. 

KING   HENRY 

Well,  then,  the  peace 
Which  you  before  so  urg'd,  lies  in  his  answer. 

FRENCH    KING 

I  have  but  with  a  cursorary(5)  eye 
O'er-glanced  the  articles  :  pleaseth(6)  your  grace 
To  appoint  some  of  your  council  presently 
To  sit  with  us  once  more,  with  better  heed 

C.(i)  Place  of  congress.     (2)  Met  in  a  friendly  way.     (3)   Hindrance. 
(4)  Written  down.     (5)  Cursory.     (6)  May  it  please. 

(105) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

To  re-survey  them,  we  will,  suddenly, 
Pass  our  accept(i)  and  peremptory  answer. 

KING    HENRY 

Brother,  we  shall. — Go,  uncle  Exeter, 
And  brother  Clarence, — and  you,  brother  Gloster ; 
Warwick,  and  Huntington,  go  with  the  king  : 
And  take  with  you  free  power  to  ratify, 
Augment  or  alter,  as  your  wisdoms  best 
Shall  see  advantageable(2)  for  our  dignity, 
Anything  in,  or  out  of,  our  demands ; 
And  we'll  consign  thereto. — Will  you,  fair  sister, 
Go  with  the  princes,  or  stay  here  with  us  ? 

QUEEN    ISABEL 

Our  gracious  brother,  I  will  go  with  them; 
Haply  a  woman's  voice  may  do  some  good, 
When  articles  too  nicely  urg'd  be  stood  on. 

KING   HENRY 

Yet  leave  our  cousin  Katherine  here  with  us ; 
She  is  our  capital  demand,  compris'd 
Within  the  fore-rank  of  our  articles. 

QUEEN  ISABEL 
She  hath  good  leave. 

(Exeunt  all  excepting  KING  HENRY,  the  PRINCESS,  and 
ALICE,  who  stand  Left  Centre,  up  near  window-seat.) 

KING  HENRY  (Centre) 

Fair  Katherine,  and  most  fair ! 
(KATHERINE  and  LADY  ALICE  curtsey  low) 
Will  you  vouchsafe  to  teach  a  soldier  terms, 
Such  as  will  enter  at  a  lady's  ear, 
And  plead  his  love  suit  to  her  gentle  heart? 

C.(i)  Declare  our  acceptance.     (2)  Profitable. 


ACT    FIVE    :    The    FIRST    Scene 

KATHERINE   {Left  Centre) 

Your  majesty  shall  mock  at  me ;  I  cannot  speak 
your  England. 

KING  HENRY 

0  fair  Katherine,  if  you  will  love  me  soundly  with 
your  French  heart,  I  will  be  glad  to  hear  you  con- 
fess it  brokenly  with  your  English  tongue.    Do  you 
like  me,  Kate? 

KATHERINE 
Pardonnez-moi,  I  cannot  tell  vat  is — like  me. 

KING  HENRY 

An  angel  is  like  you,  Kate,  and  you  are  like  an 
angel. 

KATHERINE 

Que  dit-il  ?  que  je  suis  semblable  a  les  anges  ? 

ALICE  (Left) 
Oui,  vraiment,  sauf  votre  grace,  ainsi  dit-il. 

KING  HENRY 

1  said  so,  dear  Katherine ;  and  I  must  not  blush 
to  affirm  it. 

KATHERINE 

O  bon  Dieu  !  les  langues  des  hommes  sont  pleines 
de  tromperies. 

(She  comes  forward  to  her  chair,  Left  Centre) 

KING  HENRY 

What  says  she,  fair  one?  that  the  tongues  of  men 
are  full  of  deceits  *? 

(107) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

ALICE  (up  at  Left  Centre  curtseys  low) 
Oui,  dat  the  tongues  of  de  mans  is  be  full  of  de- 
ceits :  dat  is  de  princess. 

KING  HENRY 

The  princess  is  the  better  Englishwoman.  P  faith, 
Kate,  my  wooing  is  fit  for  thy  understanding  :  I  am 
glad  thou  canst  speak  no  better  English;  for,  if 
thou  couldst,  thou  wouldst  find  me  such  a  plain 
king  that  thou  wouldst  think  I  had  sold  my  farm 
to  buy  my  crown.  I  know  no  ways  to  mince  it 
in  love,  but  directly  to  say  '  I  love  you/  Give  me 
your  answer  ;  i'  faith,  do  :  and  so  clap  hands  and  a 
bargain  :  how  say  you,  lady  ? 

KATHERINE 
Sauf  votre  honneur,  me  understand  veil. 

KING  HENRY 

Marry,  if  you  would  put  me  to  verses  or  to 
dance  for  your  sake,  Kate,  why  you  undid  me.  If 
I  could  win  a  lady  at  leap-frog,  or  by  vaulting  into 
my  saddle  with  my  armour  on  my  back,  under  the 
correction  of  bragging  be  it  spoken,  I  should  quickly 
leap  into  a  wife.  Or  if  I  might  buffet  (i)  for  my  love, 
or  bound  my  horse  for  her  favours,  I  could  lay  on 
like  a  butcher  and  sit  like  a  jack-an-apes,  never  ofT. 
But,  before  God,  Kate,  I  cannot  look  greenly  nor 
gasp  out  my  eloquence,  nor  I  have  no  cunning  in 
protestation;  only  downright  oaths,  which  I  never 
use  till  urged,  nor  never  break  for  urging.  If  thou 
canst  love  a  fellow  of  this  temper,  Kate,  whose  face 
is  not  worth  sunburning,  that  never  looks  in  his 
glass  for  love  of  anything  he  sees  there,  let  thine 
eye  be  thy  cook.  I  speak  to  thee  plain  soldier  :  If 


Box- 
(108) 


ACT    FIVE    :    The    FIRST    Scene 

thou  canst  love  me  for  this,  take  me :  if  not,  to  say 
to  thee — that  I  shall  die,  is  true :  but — for  thy  love, 
by  the  Lord,  no;  yet  I  love  thee  too.  And  while 
thou  livest,  dear  Kate,  take  a  fellow  of  plain  and 
uncoined  constancy  ;(i)  for  he  perforce  must  do 
thee  right,  because  he  hath  not  the  gift  to  woo  in 
other  places:  for  these  fellows  of  infinite  tongue, 
that  can  rhyme  themselves  into  ladies'  favours,  they 
do  always  reason  themselves  out  again.  What !  a 
speaker  is  but  a  prater ;  a  rhyme  is  but  a  ballad.  A 
good  leg  will  fall (2);  a  straight  back  will  stoop;  a 
black  beard  will  turn  white ;  a  curled  pate  will  grow 
bald;  a  fair  face  will  wither;  a  full  eye  will  wax 
hollow ;  but  a  good  heart,  Kate,  is  the  sun  and  the 
moon ;  or,  rather  the  sun,  and  not  the  moon ;  for  it 
shines  bright,  and  never  changes,  but  keeps  his 
course  truly.  If  thou  wouldst  have  such  a  one,  take 
me;  and  take  me,  take  a  soldier;  take  a  soldier, 
take  a  king.  And  what  sayest  thou  then  to  my 
love  ?  Speak,  my  fair,  and  fairly,  I  pray  thee. 

KATHERINE 

Is  it  possible  dat  I  should  love  de  enemy  of 
France  *? 

KING  HENRY 

No;  it  is  not  possible  you  should  love  the  ene- 
my of  France,  Kate :  but  in  loving  me,  you  should 
love  the  friend  of  France  ;  for  I  love  France  so  well 
that  I  will  not  part  with  a  village  of  it;  I  will 
have  it  all  mine :  and,  Kate,  when  France  is  mine, 
and  I  am  yours,  then  yours  is  France,  and  you  are 
mine. 

KATHERINE 
I  cannot  tell  vat  is  dat. 

C,(i)  That  is  like  a  plain  piece  of  metal,  that  has  not  yet  received  any 
impression.  (2)  Grow  thin. 

(I09) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

KING  HENRY 

No,  Kate  ?  I  will  tell  thee  in  French ;  which,  I 
am  sure,  will  hang  upon  my  tongue  like  a  new-mar- 
ried wife  about  her  husband's  neck,  hardly  to  be 
shook  off.  Quand  j'ai  la  possession  de  France,  et 
quand  vous  avez  la  possession  de  moi  (let  me  see, 
what  then fc?  Saint  Dennis(  i )  be  my  speed  !  ) — done 
votre  est  France,  et  vous  etes  mienne.  It  is  as  easy 
for  me,  Kate,  to  conquer  the  kingdom  as  to  speak 
so  much  more  French :  I  shall  never  move  thee  in 
French,  unless  it  be  to  laugh  at  me. 

KATHERINE 

Sauf  votre  honneur,  le  Fra^ois  que  vous  parlez 
est  meilleur  que  1  Anglois  lequel  je  parle. 

KING  HENRY 

No,  'faith,  is't  not,  Kate:  but  thy  speaking  of 
my  tongue,  and  I  thine,  must  needs  be  granted  to 
be  much  at  one.  But,  Kate,  dost  thou  understand 
thus  much  English  ?  Canst  thou  love  me  ? 

KATHERINE 
I  cannot  tell. 

KING  HENRY 

Can  any  of  your  neighbours  tell,  Kate?  I'll  ask 
them.  Come,  I  know  thou  lovest  me:  and  at 
night,  when  you  come  into  your  closet,  you'll  ques' 
tion  this  gentlewoman  about  me;  and  I  know, 
Kate,  you  will  to  her  dispraise  those  parts  in  me 
that  you  love  with  your  heart:  but,  good  Kate, 
mock  me  mercifully;  the  rather,  gentle  princess, 
because  I  love  thee  cruelly.  How  answer  you,  la 

C.11)  Patron  saint  of  France. 
(no) 


ACT    FIVE    :    The   FIRST    Scene 

plus  belle  Katherine  du  monde,  mon  trcs-chere  et 
divine  deesse  ? 

KATHERINE 

Your  majeste,  ave  fausse  French  enough  to  de- 
ceive de  most  sage  demoiselle  dat  is  en  France. 

KING  HENRY 

Now,  fie  upon  my  false  French !  By  mine 
honour,  in  true  English,  I  love  thee,  Kate.  Now, 
beshrew  my  father's  ambition !  he  was  thinking  of 
civil  wars ;  therefore  was  I  created  with  a  stubborn 
outside,  with  an  aspect  of  iron,  that,  when  I  come 
to  woo  ladies,  I  fright  them.  But,  in  faith,  Kate, 
the  elder  I  wax,  the  better  I  shall  appear :  and 
therefore  tell  me,  most  fair  Katherine,  will  you 
have  me  *?  Put  off  your  maiden  blushes;  avouch  the 
thoughts  of  your  heart  with  the  looks  of  an  em- 
press ;  take  me  by  the  hand,  and  say — "  Harry  of 
England,  I  am  thine :  "  which  word  thou  shall  no 
sooner  bless  mine  ear  withal  but  I  will  tell  thee  aloud 
—England  is  thine,  Ireland  is  thine,  France  is  thine 
and  Henry  Plantagenet  is  thine ;  who,  though  I 
speak  it  before  his  face,  if  he  be  not  fellow  with  the 
best  King,  thou  shalt  find  the  best  King  of  good 
fellows.  Come,  your  answer  in  broken  music ;  for 
thy  voice  is  music,  and  thy  English  broken.  Wilt 
thou  have  me? 

KATHERINE 
Dat  is  as  it  shall  please  de  roi  mon  pere. 

KING   HENRY 

Nay,  it  will  please  him  well,  Kate ;  it  shall  please 
him,  Kate. 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

KATHERINE 
Den  it  shall  also  content  me. 

KING    HENRY 

Upon  that  I  kiss  your  hand,  and  I  call  you  my 
queen.  (Kneels  to  kiss  the  PRINCESS'  hand.) 

KATHERINE  (timidly  drawing  away,  Left) 
Laissez,  mon  seigneur,  laissez,  laissez;  ma  foi, 
je  ne  veux  point  que  vous  abbaissez  votre  grandeur, 
en  baisant  la  main  d'une  votre  indigne  serviteure ; 
excuzez-moi,  je  vous  supplie,  mon  tres  puissant 
seigneur. 

KING    HENRY 
Then  I  will  kiss  your  lips,  Kate. 

KATHERINE 

Les  dames,  et  demoiselles,  pour  etre  baissees  de- 
vant  leur  noces,  il  n'est  pas  le  coutume  de  France. 

KING    HENRY 
Madam  my  interpreter,  what  says  she? 

ALICE  (who  has  crossed  to  Right  Centre  front) 

Dat  it  is  not  be  de  fashion  pour  les  ladies  of 
France, — (curtseys)  I  cannot  tell  what  is  baiser,  en 
English. 

KING    HENRY 
To  kiss. 

ALICE    (curtseys} 

Your  majesty  entendre  bettre  que  moi. 

KING    HENRY 

It  is  not  the  fashion  for  the  maids  in  France  to 
kiss  before  they  are  married,  would  she  say? 


ACT  FIVE  :   The  SECOND  Scene 

ALICE 
Oui,  vraiment.  (Curtseys) 

KING  HENRY 

O  Kate,  nice  customs  curt'sy  to  great  kings. 
Dear  Kate,  you  and  I  cannot  be  confined  within 
the  weak  list  (i)  of  a  country's  fashion.  We  are  the 
makers  of  manners,  Kate ;  and  the  liberty  that  fol- 
lows our  places  stops  the  mouth  of  all  find-faults  (2)  ; 
as  I  will  do  yours,  for  upholding  the  nice  fashion  of 
your  country  in  denying  me  a  kiss:  therefore,  pa- 
tiently and  yielding.  (Kissing  her.)  You  have 
witchcraft  in  your  lips,  Kate  :  there  is  more  eloquence 
in  a  sugar  touch  of  them  than  in  the  tongues  of  the 
French  council;  and  they  should  sooner  persuade 
Harry  of  England  than  a  general  petition  of  mon- 
archs  (about  to  kiss  her  again).  Here  comes  your 
father. 

The  SECOND  Scene 


(Troyes,  from  the  Bridge) 


CAPTAIN  GOWER   and  FLUELLEN  from  Left. 
FLUELLEN  wears  a  leek  in  his  cap. 

GOWER  (Left) 

Nay,  that's  right ;  but  why  wear  you  your  leek 
to-day  ?  Saint  Davy's  day  is  past.  (3) 

FLUELLEN  (Right) 

There  is  occasions  and  causes  why  and  wherefore 
in  all  things  :  I  will  tell  you,  as  my  friend,  Captain 
Gower :  the  rascally,  scald,  (4)  beggarly,  lousy,  prag- 
ging  knave,  Pistol, — he  is  come  to  me,  and  prings  me 

C.(i)  Boundary.     (2)   Fault-finders.     (3)  St.  David's  Day  is  March  I. 
The  leek  is  the  national  Welsh  emblem.     (4)  Scurvy,  with  diseased  scalp. 

("3)  " 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

pread  and  salt  yesterday,  look  you,  and  bid  me  eat 
my  leek ;  it  was  in  a  place  where  I  could  not  breed 
no  contentions  with  him ;  but  I  will  be  so  pold  as 
to  wear  it  in  my  cap  till  I  see  him  once  again,  and 
then  I  will  tell  him  a  little  piece  of  my  desires. 

^Enter  PISTOL  from  Right 

GOWER 

Why,  here  he  comes,  swelling  like  a  turkey-cock. 

FLUELLEN 

'Tis  no  matter  for  his  swellings,  nor  his  turkey- 
cocks. — (Going  toward  PISTOL.)  Got  pless  you, 
ancient  Pistol !  you  scurvy,  lousy  knave,  Got  pless 
you! 

PISTOL 
Ha !    art   thou    Bedlam  ?    dost   thou    thirst,    base 

Trojan, 

To  have  me  fold  up  Parca's  (i)  fatal  web^ 
Hence  !  I  am  qualmish  at  the  smell  of  leek. 

FLUELLEN  (takes  leek  from  his  cap  and  shakes  it  under 

PISTOL'S  nose) 

I  peseech  you  heartily,  scurvy,  lousy  knave,  at 
my  desires,  and  my  requests,  and  my  petitions,  to 
eat,  look  you,  this  leek ;  because,  look  you,  you  do 
not  love  it,  nor  your  affections,  and  your  appetites, 
and  your  digestions,  does  not  agree  with  it,  I  would 
desire  you  to  eat  it. 

PISTOL 
Not  for  Cadwallader  (2)  and  all  his  goats. 

FLUELLEN 
There  is  one  goat  for  you. 

(Strikes  him  to  his  knees.) 

C,(i)  The  Parcae  were  the  Fates.  The  meaning  of  the  line  is  "Dost 
thou  wish  me  to  put  thee  to  death  ?  "  (2)  Last  of  the  Welsh  Kings. 


ACT  FIVE  :  The  SECOND  Scene 


Will  you  be  so  goot,  scald  knave,  as  eat  it  ? 

(Forces  leek  into  PISTOL'S  mouth) 

PISTOL  (Centre) 
Base  Trojan,  thou  shalt  die. 

FLUELLEN    (Right  Centre) 

You  say,  very  true,  scald  knave,  when  Heaven's 
will  is ;  I  will  desire  you  to  live  in  the  mean  time, 
and  eat  your  victuals ;  come,  there  is  sauce  for  it. 
(Striking  him  again.)  You  called  me  yesterday, 
mountain-squire,  but  I  will  make  to-day  a  squire  of 
low  degree.  (Strikes)  I  pray  you,  fall  to,  if  you  can 
mock  a  leek,  you  can  eat  a  leek. 

GOWER   (Left  Centre) 
Enough,  captain  ;  you  have  astonished  ( i )  him. 

FLUELLEN 

I  say,  I  will  make  him  eat  some  part  of  my  leek, 
or  I  will  peat  his  pate  four  days :  Bite,  I  pray  you  ; 
it  is  goot  for  your  green  wound,  and  your  ploody 
coxcomb. 

PISTOL 
Must  I  bite  *? 

FLUELLEN 

Yes,  certainly ;  and  out  of  doubt  and  out  of 
questions,  too,  and  ambiguities.  (Strikes.) 

PISTOL 

By  this  leek,  I  will  most  horribly  revenge.  (Fore- 
seeing another  blow  from  FLUELLEN'S  cudgel)  I  eat — 
and  yet  I  swear. 

FLUELLEN 
Eat,  I  pray  you :  will  you  have  some  more  sauce 

C.(i)  Dr  Johnson  claims  this  is  the  pugilistic  sense  of  the  word  astonish, 
that  is,  stunned. 

("5) 


KING     HENRY     the     FIFTH 

to  your  leek  ?   (Strikes)  there  is  not  enough  leek  to 
swear  by. 

PISTOL 
Quiet  thy  cudgel ;  thou  dost  see,  I  eat. 

FLUELLEN 

Much  goot  do  you,  scald  knave,  heartily.  Nay, 
pray  .you,  throw  none  away,  the  skin  is  goot  for 
your  proken  coxcomb.  When  you  take  occasions 
to  seek  leeks  hereafter,  I  pray  you  mock  at  'em ; 
that  is  all.  (Going,  Left.) 

PISTOL 
Good. 

FLUELLEN 

Ay,  leeks  is  goot: — (Returns)  Hold  you,  there 
is  a  groat  to  heal  your  pate.  (Offers  coin) 

PISTOL 
Me  a  groat ! 

FLUELLEN 

Yes,  verily,  and  in  truth  you  shall  take  it;  or  I 
have  another  leek  in  my  pocket,  which  you  shall 
eat. 

PISTOL 
I  take  thy  groat,  in  earnest  of  revenge. 

FLUELLEN 

If  I  owe  you  anything  I  will  pay  you  in  cudgels. 
(Shakes  cudgel  under  PISTOL'S  nose)  Heaven  be  wi' 
you,  and  keep  you,  and  heal  your  pate. 

(Strikes  again.     Exit  ^u^th  GOWER,  Left) 

PISTOL  (draws  sword  with  a  growl  and  a  flourish, 

mightily  bold) 
All  hell  shall  stir  for  this. 

(He  struts  boldly  off,  but,  perceiving  FLUELLEN,  lowers 
his  sword  and  runs  in  the  opposite  direction.) 


ACT   FIVE  :    The   THIRD    Scene 

cfhe  THIRD  Scene 

(Interior  of  the  Cathedral  at  ^froyes.  Ceremony  of 
the  Espousal  of  KING  HENRY  and  the  PRINCESS 
KATHERINE.  (i)  ) 

Right  and  left  outside  the  chancel  screen  stand  French 
and  English  nobles.  Enter  the  surpliced  choir  of  boys  and 
men,  singing,  tfhey  march  into  the  chancel  and  dispose 
themselves  either  side  of  the  altar.  Following  the  choir, 
crucifers  and  thurifers,  come  three  Archbishops  in  full 
canonicals,  ^fhe  ecclesiastics  ascend  the  steps  of  the  high 
altar,  ^he  FRENCH  KING  leads  in  the  PRINCESS 
KATHERINE  in  her  bridal  robes,  the  train  borne  by  six 
pages  of  Valois  in  pure  -white,  ^fhe  DUKE  of  BUR- 
GUNDY escorts  QUEEN  ISABEL,  followed  by  LADY  ALICE, 
the  French  Court  and  attendants,  ^hey  dispose  them- 
selves without  the  chancel  on  the  left.  KING  HENRY, 
preceded  by  eight  pages  of  Lancaster,  enters  from  the 
opposite  side,  ^he  English  nobles  in  full  armour  follow 
him,  and  dispose  themselves  outside  the  chancel  on  the 
right.  KING  HENRY  advances  to  the  foot  of  the  altar 
and  genuflects  to  receive  the  prelates'  blessing.  He  re- 
turns and  leads  the  PRINCESS  KATHERINE  to  the  foot  of 
the  altar,  ^hey  and  all  kneel  while  the  ARCHBISHOP  of 
SEWS  blesses  them.  cfhe  choir  breaks  forth  into  a  joyous 
Gloria. 

(  Curtain) 


The  END  of  the   FIFTH   ACT 


On  the  morrow  of  Trinity-day  the  King  of  England  espoused  her 
in  the  parish  church  near  to  where  he  was  lodged.  Great  pomp  and 
magnificence  were  displayed  by  him  and  his  prince,  as  if  he  were  at  that 
moment  King  of  all  the  world. — Monstrelet. 

(II?) 


NOTES    on  the   HERALDRY 
of  KING    HENRY   V 

By  ALFRED  J.  RODWAYE,  F.R.H.S. 


O  thoroughness  in  mounting  Henry  V. 
could  be  approximated  without  a  de- 
tailed attention  to  the  heraldry.  It  is  a 
war  play  of  mediaeval  England,  when 
nobles  entered  the  peaceful  lists  of  the 
tournament  or  the  martial  lists  of  war 
in  full  heraldic  equipment.  Individual 
devices  and  bearings  early  became  so 
popular  and  consequently  so  intricate 
that  a  college  of  heraldry  was  instituted,  which  has  since 
been  the  arbiter  as  well  as  the  repository  of  the  science, 
'-fhis  was  composed  of  three  kings,  six  heralds,  and  four 
poursuivants.  It  was  indeed  under  King  Henry  V.  that 
the  heralds  first  acted  in  their  collegiate  capacity,  and 
heraldry  was  recognised  as  an  exact  science. 

No  official  heraldic  data  exist  of  that  period  of  English 
history  prior  to  the  reign  of  Henry  F.  tfhe  well-known 
Rolls  of  Battle  and  Caerlaverock,  invaluable  as  they  are, 
contain  many  apocryphal  blazons,  and  therefore  monu- 
ments, seals,  ancient  missals,  etc.,  have  been  resorted  to  in 
order  to  obtain  the  correct  armorials  of  the  notables  rep- 

(121) 


HERALDRY   of  KING   HENRY  the   FIFTH 

resented  in  the  flay.  In  the  Middle  Ages  heraldry  en- 
tered into  all  branches  of  art,  civil,  military,  and  ecclesi- 
astic, and  was  indeed  practically  essential,  tfhe  Baron 
had  his  surcoat,  shield,  and  banner  emblazoned  with  his 
ancestral  Arms.  His  servitors  ( 'considered  unworthy  to 
bear  ArmsJ  were  apparelled  in  the  livery-colours  and 
wore  their  Lord's  crest  embroidered  upon  their  sleeves. 

In  those  days,  when  few  of  the  laity  could  read  and 
write,  heraldry  was  the  only  means  of  identification  and 
recognition,  and  we  read  of  King  Henry  J^.  sending  his 
Herald  (William  Bruges,  afterwards  first  Garter  King 
at  Arms}  with  his  assistants  over  the  battle-field  of  A  gin- 
court  to  examine  the  shields  and  report  the  names  and 
quality  of  the  dead.  *fo  read  the  blazons  of  the  dead 
warriors  would  be  as  an  open  book  to  those  versed  in  the 
science. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  designs  or  charges 
have  no  meaning.  Each  blazon  presented  in  the  play  has 
some  reference  to  the  past  history  of  the  family  it  repre- 
sents, fhe  armorials  of  Beauchamp  of  Warwick,  De 
Vere  of  Oxford,  Neville,  Roos,  ^albot,  Cornwall,  Robsart, 
et  al.,  are  each  in  themselves  unwritten  records,  ^fhey 
refer  to  some  deed  of  valour  or  piety  of  long  ago,  now 
only  known  to  the  initiated.  Although  most  of  the  families 
have  perished  off  the  earth,  their  sculptured  shields  still 
bear  silent  testimony  in  out-of-the-way  places,  ruined 
castles,  abbeys,  etc. 

THE  ENGLISH  ROYAL  BADGES  used  in  the  play  are 
the  IV kite  Swan  of  the  De  Bohuns,  the  Gorged  Antelope, 
the  Root  of  Bedford,  the  Foxtail,  and  the  single  Ostrich 
Feather  ( 'progenitor  of  the  Prince  of  Wales'  plume  J. 
Each  has  its  historical  significance  and  was  worn  sus- 
pended from  a  collar  of  repeated  SS.  of  fine  metal  or 
embroidery,  ^he  Order  of  the  Garter  was  represented  at 
this  period  by  the  simple  pale-blue  garter  with  the  legend 
"  Honi  soit  qui  mal  y  pense,"  worn  around  the  left 


HERALDRY  of  KING   HENRY   the  FIFTH 

leg  and  embroidered  upon  the  robe.  The  collar,  star,  and 
pendant  were  added  at  a  later  date. 

THE  ROYAL  ARMS  OF  ENGLAND  used  by  Henry  V. 
-were  emblazoned  France  ( 'modern J  and  England  quar- 
terly, ^his  arrangement  was  continued  until  the  death 
of  Elizabeth,  when  the  accession  of  James  J.  necessitated 
the  introduction  of  the  Scottish  Lion  to  the  Regal  Armory, 
rfhe  shield  shown  suspended  over  King  Henry  V?s  tomb 
at  Westminster  Abbey  has  long  since  been  proven  entirely 
French-Navarrese  in  character,  and,  as  it  is  known  the 
trophies  were  removed  to  the  ^ower  during  Cromwellian 
times  it  is  highly  probable  that  in  the  confusion  the  wrong 
ones  were  replaced. 

THE  CROWN  OF  ENGLAND  underwent  a  complete  tran- 
sition during  this  reign,  ^fbe  beautiful  "  Harry  Crown  " 
depicted  upon  the  tomb  of  Henry  W.  at  Canterbury  was 
broken  up  and  pledged  to  provide  funds  for  the  French 
campaign,  and  King  Henry  /^.,  upon  his  return  from 
France  and  on  the  advice  of  his  guest,  the  Emperor  Sig- 
ismund,  adopted  an  imperial  or  arched  crown  surmounted 
by  the  ball  and  cross,  ^fhis  was  effected  by  merely  arch- 
ing the  circlet  of  crosses,  paties,  and  fleur s-de-ly s  worn 
by  the  King  around  his  steel  bascinet.  In  the  centre  of 
the  circlet  was  the  famous  Black  Ruby  of  Edward  the 
Black  Prince, —  still  the  most  prized  gem  in  Britain's 
diadem. 

THE  FLAGS  AND  BANNERS  of  various  shapes  and 
sizes  form  a  most  interesting  and  decorative  feature  in 
this  revival  of  King  Henry  V.  tfke  Pennon  was  a 
swallow-tailed  pendant  from  a  lance  charged  with  ar- 
morial devices.  ^he  Banner,  and  its  diminutive,  the 
Banneret,  was  square  in  form,  charged  only  with  the  coat- 
armour  of  the  bearer,  ^he  Standard  was  of  large  di- 
mensions, charged  with  the  owner's  arms,  badges,  and 
livery  colours.  In  addition  to  the  regal  and  noble  banners, 
the  English,  during  this  campaign,  always  carried  their 


HERALDRY  of  KING   HENRY  the  FIFTH 

sacred  colours,  the  banners  of  the  trinity,  St.  George,  St. 
Edmund,  and  St.  Edward. 

THE  HERALDRY  OF  FRANCE,  owing  to  the  continual 
change  of  dynasty  and  recreation  of  titles,  and  considering 
that  every  vestige  of  royalty  and  aristocracy  was  swept 
away  during  the  Revolution,  has  been  most  difficult  to 
obtain.  France  modern,  viz.,  "  three  golden  fleurs-de-lys 
upon  a  blue  field?  was  the  arms  of  Charles  f^L,  and  was 
borne  with  various  differences  by  all  the  Princes  of  the 
blood, — Burgundy,  Orleans,  Bourbon,  Alengon,  et  al. 
Tfe  Dauphin,  or  Heir  Apparent,  quartered  the  arms  of 
France  with  those  of  his  own  appanage,  as  Dauphin  of 
f^ienne,  a  blue  dolphin  on  a  gold  shield.  Former  produc- 
tions of  this  play  have  assigned  the  Order  of  St.  Esprit  to 
the  French,  and  the  well-known  Golden  Fleece  to  the  Bur- 
gundians.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  were  not  instituted 
until  some  years  after  the  date  of  the  play,  tfhe  Orders 
used  in  Mr.  Mansfield's  production  are  those  of  the  Corse 
de  Genest  or  broom-plant,  founded  by  St.  Louis  in  1234, 
and  the  Order  of  the  Cockle  Shell  and  St.  Michael.  The 
regalia  fcroivn,  sceptres,  etc.J  are  copied  from  the  seals 
of  the  period  and  other  sources  in  the  Louvre.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  other  banners  of  the  French  Noblesse,  that 
famous  piece  of  red  taffeta,  known  as  the  Oriflamme,  or 
sacred  standard  of  France  (long  religiously  kept  at  St. 
Denis  and  supposed  to  be  of  miraculous  origin},  is  de- 
picted in  the  play.  It  was  unfurled  only  in  times  of 
great  national  peril,  and  after  many  vicissitudes  the  his- 
toric relic  made  its  last  appearance  upon  the  battle-field 
of  Agincourt. 


("4) 


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